NATO defence ministers to discuss bolstering eastern defence

NATO defence ministers to discuss bolstering eastern defence.

NATO defence ministers are to meet on Wednesday to discuss the medium and long-term reinforcement of alliance members in Eastern Europe in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion puts “questions on the table” about NATO’s current strategy to support members on NATO’s eastern flank, Julianne Smith United States Ambassador said.

Further land, sea and air reinforcements to defend members on the eastern flank “for the longer term in all domains” were a possibility, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a press conference.

The eastern European countries that have expressed concern for their security in light of the invasion are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The special meeting of the 30 NATO defence ministers including U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is also set to focus on the alliance’s more immediate steps in responding to the war, which is in its third week.

NATO has already deployed its rapid response force to the alliance’s eastern flank as a reaction to the invasion, as well as activating defence plans to respond to future scenarios.

“There are now hundreds of thousands of forces on heightened alert across the alliance,” Stoltenberg said.

He added 100,000 U.S. soldiers are in Europe and 40,000 soldiers now stand under direct NATO command.

Greater air and naval power has also been deployed in support, he said.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov is set to take part along with his Swedish, Finnish and Georgian counterparts, all not members of NATO.