NATO defence ministers have asked military commanders to draw up plans for a significantly larger long-term deployment of western forces in eastern Europe, the secretary general of the alliance said Wednesday.
Jens Stoltenberg made the remarks at the end of a special ministerial meeting in Brussels which also included representatives of Sweden, Finland and Ukraine.
The plans, he said, will be discussed along with other developments in Russia's invasion of Ukraine by NATO leaders at an emergency meeting next week at alliance headquarters.
Final approval for the deployment — which is expected to send thousands more troops into the Baltic states, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania — will be sought at the annual meeting of NATO leaders in Madrid, Spain in June.
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"We face a new reality for our security, so we must reset our collective defence and deterrence for the longer term," Stoltenberg said.
He said NATO military commanders were told Wednesday to develop "options across all domains. Land. Air. Sea. Cyber and space."
There are now 40,000 troops under direct NATO command in eastern Europe. Stoltenberg said the new plan should include "substantially more forces" on land &quoxjmtzywt;in the eastern part of the alliance at higher readiness, with more pre-positioned equipment and supplies."
The plan also is expected to place more allied airpower, aircraft carrier strike groups and submarines in the region "on a persistent basis," Stoltenberg said.
Canada now has 540 troops deployed in Latvia. They're leading a NATO battlegroup as part of a mission to deter further Russian aggression. Another 120 Canadian soldiers and an artillery battery are on their way to join them.
Two Canadian frigates have been attached to the NATO standing task forces and the Canadian air force has contributed a flight of CF-18 jet fighters for air policing missions over eastern Europe.
