President Joe Biden has said the United States will strengthen its military presence in Europe “to defend every inch of allied territory” at a summit of NATO leaders to agree on a review of the alliance’s strategy for defending Eastern Europe. from Moscow. The United States will establish a permanent headquarters for its 5th Army Corps in Poland, send an additional 5,000 troops to Romania and increase rotating developments in the Baltic states, Biden said as part of efforts to strengthen his first line of defense. NATO against a possible attack. Two squadrons of US F-35 fighter jets will be sent to the United Kingdom, Biden added, in addition to deploying air defense systems in Italy and Germany and increasing the number of US naval destroyers in Spain to six from four. The new developments will add to the more than 100,000 US troops currently in Europe, which has already grown by about 20,000 since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine four months ago. Other NATO countries are expected to announce increases in defense spending and additional developments at the Madrid summit, as well as agree on additional military support for Ukraine. NATO will also formally invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, after Turkey rejected its veto on its membership applications late Tuesday. Biden said the summit “makes history” and that further US developments “will send an unmistakable message that NATO is strong and united.” “At one point [Russia’s President Vladimir] “Putin has destroyed peace in Europe and attacked the very principles of a rule-based order. The United States and our allies are intensifying,” Biden said. “The steps we are taking during this summit are going to further increase our collective strength.” The scale of the Russian invasion, which has killed thousands and displaced about a quarter of Ukraine’s population, has forced NATO officials and Western leaders to abandon their existing plans to defend the east side of the alliance, which they now consider insufficient to resist an attack. “The United States will strengthen the position of our forces in Europe and respond to the changing security environment to defend every inch of allied territory,” Biden said. The US developments come as NATO prepares to agree on new defense plans that will increase the number of troops on high alert sevenfold to respond to an invasion of more than 300,000 out of 40,000 today. This comes in response to calls from the Baltic states and other eastern NATO allies for more permanent, larger and better-equipped forces to defend themselves against Russia. “This will be a historic and transformative summit for our alliance,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday morning. “We are facing the most serious security crisis we have faced since World War II.” “The biggest reform [of] “Our collective defense since the end of the Cold War will be agreed at this summit.”
