The West is serious about deterring Putin! NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (62) announced on Friday for the first time in the history of the defense alliance that the rapid deployment force (NATO Response Force or NRF) would be relocated – that didn’t even exist during the Cold War.
By Nils Kottmann
The task force comprises 40,000 soldiers, including 13,700 Bundeswehr soldiers. Stoltenberg did not reveal where the troops were being transferred to.
He only spoke of several thousand soldiers who should be deployed on land, at sea and in the air. They were to be deployed at various locations in the Eastern Alliance area.
According to information from the German Press Agency, ground troops could be sent to Romania, southwest of Ukraine. Norway is also on the list.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (56, SPD) announced on Friday evening that she would send a Bundeswehr company to Slovakia, also a neighboring country to Ukraine. Germany is also considering moving “Patriot” anti-aircraft systems to Eastern Europe.
On Saturday morning, the corvette “Erfurt” with 60 soldiers left Wilhelmshaven to reinforce NATO in the North and Baltic Seas as well as in the North Atlantic. In Eckernförde, the reconnaissance ship “Alster” set out for the Baltic Sea to join the eastern flank of the defensive alliance.
In a statement, the NATO members emphasized that the measures were “preventive, proportionate and not escalating”.
The message to Putin is clear: we are ready should the Kremlin boss attack NATO territory.