The United States will stand with its European allies in the defense of the Baltic countries, the American commander of NATO’s land forces in Europe said on Tuesday as the alliance assigned an additional headquarters to the region.
NATO Defense
US General Chris Donahue said at a ceremony in the Estonian town of Valga that the US will be there alongside its allies. Donahue, who will relinquish his post on Thursday, doubles as chief of the US Army in Europe and Africa.
NATO troops in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and in northern Poland, have until now come under the command of a single multinational headquarters based in the northwestern Polish city of Szczecin. Creating a second command zone allows the alliance to devote more troops to the Baltic states.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the shift in NATO’s posture was proof of the alliance’s determination to defend every inch of allied territory. A second corps in charge of Baltic defense would allow NATO to bring in “mass at speed,” a military official said on condition of anonymity.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
