Poland, seven other nations sign NATO ‘battle ready’ declaration

Four international battalions stationed in Eastern Europe are now ready to respond to any Russian “aggression,” the defence ministers from eight NATO countries said signing the Enhanced Forward Presence declaration. “Today, we declare that (these battalions) are ready and able to deter and, if necessary, immediately respond to any aggression in concert with national forces underpinned by a viable reinforcement strategy,” the document stated. Germany, the UK, the US and Canada currently lead four multi-national battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, as tripwires against possible Russian aggression. These four battalions, which deploy on a rotational basis, total about 4,500 troops from 15 nations and train constantly to improve co-ordination and conduct joint exercises. NATO agreed at a 2016 summit in Warsaw to boost its military presence along the alliance's eastern flank. “As a means to prevent conflict and war, credible deterrence and defence is essential. At the same time, as part of the Alliance's overall approach to providing security for NATO populations and territory, deterrence has to be complemented by meaningful dialogue and engagement with Russia, to seek reciprocal transparency and risk reduction. Those efforts will not come at the expense of ensuring NATO's credible deterrence and defence,” the statement said.