Russian President Vladimir Putin’s battle in Ukraine has put the NATO alliance and its member nations “completely in danger,” a Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) official advised reporters on Wednesday, a month into Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The official known as Putin “reckless” and stated he and his interior circle “don’t care about human life.”
“From Russia, we understand that Putin and his shut circle, they’re completely reckless folks. They don’t care about human life. They lie publicly to hide their army operations. Putin has completely modified his speech towards the West, and he has a deep hatred of our societies, of our values, so we actually assess that he’s harmful, and that the alliance is totally in danger,” the official stated on Wednesday.
SHAPE is the headquarters of the NATO alliance army operations in Europe. It’s positioned in Brussels, Belgium. Two SHAPE officers briefed reporters on the NATO army posture and the way they’re responding to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The briefing comes forward of US President Joe Biden’s journey to NATO headquarters in Brussels to satisfy with NATO allied international locations’ leaders because the Ukraine disaster continues.
The battle has created a “new actuality” for NATO allies, one other SHAPE official stated, echoing Secretary Normal Jens Stoltenberg’s phrases at a information convention earlier Wednesday.
“You simply listened to the SecGen’s presser, and he stated it’s a brand new actuality and we should reset our protection and our deterrence posture,” the second SHAPE official stated. “This can be a everlasting and profound change within the European safety atmosphere, and SecGen has stated the identical factor.”
The officers stated it’s too early to foretell how NATO will completely shift its army pressure posture throughout Europe due to Putin’s actions, however they spoke to how the posture has modified to date to strengthen the jap flank, the place NATO allied international locations border Ukraine, and to make sure they’re ready for any state of affairs the battle in Ukraine may trigger for NATO international locations.
As a result of the NATO Response Drive was activated for the primary time in NATO’s historical past, “40,000 troops” in NATO allied international locations alongside the jap flank are actually working for the “collective safety, collective protection,” of all NATO international locations, not only for their very own nations. There are eight battle teams, one in every jap flank nation, which might be a part of this NATO Response Drive activation, the second SHAPE official stated.
This can be a “tenfold enhance” in what was there earlier than the invasion of Ukraine, the official added.
“Within the land area, in land forces, there are actually 40,000 troops in these eight battle teams, that are on the one in every nation alongside the jap flank, that could be a tenfold enhance on what was there previous to the invasion by Russia,” the second SHAPE official stated.
Within the air, there are an “further 100 plus airplanes,” the official stated.
“We at all times do what we name air policing,” the official stated, however now after the invasion began, they’ve eight plane flying to offer the alliance “24/7 airborne presence on the jap flank.”
Within the waters round NATO allied international locations, the alliance has “25 ships at any given time which might be patrolling the waters offering 360 diploma deterrence,” the official stated.
“Along with that, there’s usually about 150 ships from NATO nations moreover which might be additionally cruising the waters and may flex forwards and backwards beneath NATO command and management,” the official added.
Whereas it’s too quickly to inform what the everlasting modifications to NATO army pressure posture will likely be due to Putin’s invasion, the official stated the present pressure posture “at a minimal” is an effective “place to begin” of what issues may appear like long-term.
“We’re making ready for the worst however doing all the things that we will in order that the worst doesn’t occur,” the primary official stated.
