WASHINGTON — The last of nearly 5,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Poland on Thursday …
Another 1,000 American troops — a Stryker squadron from the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment — are moving from Germany to Romania, and should be in place by Saturday. The Air Force has sent more than a dozen additional fighter jets to Eastern Europe in recent days to bolster aerial defenses there.
The reinforcements would more than double the number of American ground troops in the two countries, to roughly 9,000 in Poland and nearly 2,000 in Romania, putting U.S. soldiers and Russian troops in perhaps the closest proximity in years outside of drills.
The troops that were added to the already 80,000 that are based in Europe are going to reassure our allies and our partners to deter aggression against the alliance to conduct some joint training.
RUKLA MILITARY BASE, Lithuania (Reuters) - A German army convoy of 130 soldiers and 60 vehicles reached Lithuania on Thursday, bringing almost half of planned reinforcements for the country’s German-led NATO battlegroup amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was now every indication Russia was planning to invade Ukraine, including signs Moscow was carrying out a false flag operation to provide a pretext, after Ukrainian government forces and pro-Moscow separatists traded fire.
The German reinforcement operation will continue until the end of the week, bolstering German forces in Lithuania by more than 350 soldiers and 100 vehicles, Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup commander Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Andrae said.
The convoy of artillery and reconnaissance units set out from Jaegerbrueck in eastern Germany and travelled overland through Poland. It will be followed by howitzers on heavy transporters in the next 2-3 days.
Norway will also increase its part in the German-led battlegroup by 50-60 soldiers for the next three months, bringing total number of NATO troops there to 1,610, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.
Britain said it would double the size of its forces in nearby Estonia where it heads a similar NATO battlegroup.