NATO Secretary: Alliance to Bolster Ranks in Eastern Europe to Deter Russia

NATO will bolster its ranks in Eastern Europe to deter Russia from invading any member of their ranks, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday during a press conference in Brussels.

"I expect leaders will agree to strengthen NATO's posture in all domains, with major increases in the eastern part of the alliance on land, in the air and at sea," Stoltenberg said ahead of the NATO leaders summit there.

Four new battle groups consisting of 1,000-1,500 troops are being set up in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Bulgaria, he said.

The forces will remain in place "as long as necessary."

"Along with our existing forces in the Baltic countries and Poland, this means that we will have eight multinational NATO battlegroups all along the eastern flank, from the Baltic to the Black Sea," Stoltenberg said. The alliance also has 140 warships at sea and 130 aircraft on high alert.

Russia's actions, he told reporters, have become the "new normal for our security, and NATO has to respond to that new reality."

The U.S. and NATO have deployed thousands of troops to eastern-flank countries since Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's border began in October. President Joe Biden will attend Thursday's emergency summit in Brussels to OK "NATO's posture in all domains," said Stoltenberg.

He also said NATO leaders are likely to agree to send more assistance to Ukraine, including equipment to help defend itself against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats following reports Russian President Vladimir Putin was weighing the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

"Any use of chemical weapons would totally change the nature of the conflict, and it would be a blatant violation of international law and have far-reaching consequences," Stoltenberg said. He declined to say whether such an attack would be a red line that might drag NATO into the war.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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