U.S. President Joe Biden announces increase in America’s military presence across Europe over threat from Vladimir Putin
It comes as tensions between Russia and the West remain tense over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
There will now be a permanent U.S. army headquarters in Poland, with new warships on their way to Spain, fighter jets to the UK and even ground troops to Romania.
Biden says the strategic alliance will be “strengthened in all directions across every domain – land, air and sea”.
NATO’s longstanding commitment to ‘defend every inch of its territory’ has been reaffirmed and Biden warns “an attack against one is an attack against all.”
The pledge from Biden includes more naval destroyers stationed in Spain, two F-35 fighter jet squadrons positioned in the United Kingdom and a permanent headquarters in Poland for the U.S. 5th Army Corps.
This increased force posture comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on and countries in Europe grow increasingly nervous about the war on their continent.
“The United States and our allies, we’re going to step up,” Biden said the start of the NATO summit in Madrid.
“We’re proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been and it’s as important as it ever has been.”
U.S. presence grows
Since February, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Defense has increased the number of U.S. troops in Europe to more than 100,000 service members, up from 80,000.
Here’s what the U.S plans to do in each European country:
- Poland: permanent station for the 5th Army Corps Headquarters Forward Command Post, an Army garrison headquarters, and a field support battalion, to allow the U.S. to more easily deploy combat troops along NATO’s eastern flank
- Romania: position a rotational brigade combat team
- The Baltic region: increase rotational deployments of armored, aviation, air defense, and special operations forces
- Spain: increase the number of destroyers stationed at Rota from four to six
- United Kingdom: station two squadrons of F-35 fighter jets.
- Germany: forward-station an air defense artillery brigade headquarters, a short-range air defense battalion, a combat sustainment support battalion headquarters, and an engineer brigade headquarters
- Italy: forward-station a short-range air defense battery
