NATO Battalions to Be Deployed in Baltic States, Poland by June – Stoltenberg

Four multinational NATO battalions will be deployed in the Baltic states and Poland by June, the alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Monday, unveiling the NATO 2016 annual report.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – The alliance’s decision to deploy four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland was announced by Stoltenberg following the NATO summit in July 2016.

“They are arriving as I speak. At least 17 different allied countries will contribute troops to these four battlegroups. And we are on track to have all four battlegroups in place by June,” Stoltenberg said.

Over the last few years, the US and its NATO allies have gradually built up their forces in Eastern Europe to levels unprecedented since the Cold War, substantially increasing the number of drills, and deciding to permanently deploy four new multinational battalions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Germany has played an active role in that effort, with the Bundeswehr deploying several hundred troops in Lithuania at a base just 100 km from the Russian border last month.