Graphic shows existing and planned NATO battlegroups in Europe.
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MILITARY

NATO weighs new battlegroups in Eastern Europe

By Jordi Bou

February 17, 2022 - NATO is planning the deployment of new combat units to central and southeastern Europe, in response to Russia’s military build-up in Ukraine.

The move – which could see four “battlegroups” totalling 4,000 troops in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia – would represent the biggest shift in the alliance’s military posture since it set up operations in the Baltic states and Poland in the wake of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

NATO has deployed four multinational combat units with some 5,000 troops in total in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, led by the U.S., Germany, Canada and Britain. They are designed to buy time for additional NATO troops to reach the front line if needed.

As many as 130,000 Russian troops are positioned close to Ukraine’s borders but Moscow insists it has no plans to invade.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 17/02/2022; STORY: Graphic News
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