NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
There are 100,000 US troops in Europe as of Thursday as NATO increases its presence on the eastern flank and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth week.
At a press conference along with the German Foreign Minister, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the number of American soldiers in Europe has increased by several thousand over the past few weeks.
Stoltenberg said NATO has beefed up its deterrence and defense forces, especially in the eastern part of the alliance, where hundreds of thousands of troops are on “high alert.”
NATO SAYS “WE COULD DO EVEN MORE” BEFORE RUSSIAN INVASION, BUT REJECTS CALLS FOR FLIGHT BAN
According to Stoltenberg, there are currently 40,000 troops under direct NATO command.
“This is our immediate response, which sends a clear signal to Moscow that an attack on one ally will provoke a response from the entire alliance,” he said. “Defence deterrence is not about provoking conflict, but about preventing it. It’s about saving the world.”
RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES
“I fully understand the devastation and desperation that President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people are experiencing because they are in an extremely difficult situation where every single day they see civilian casualties, destruction, including attacks on hospitals, schools, civilian infrastructure. ”, he added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses the media during a joint statement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of a meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, Pool)
NATO has stepped up support for Ukraine with advanced weapons systems, air and missile defenses, tanks, fuel and ammunition, “critical to mobilizing Ukrainian forces against invading Russian forces,” he said. Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, NATO allies have trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops who are “now on the front lines fighting the invading forces.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The defense forces of the Ukrainian army are much bigger, much stronger, much better equipped, much better trained, much better managed now than they were in 2014,” he said. “The courage of the Ukrainian armed forces allowed them to resist the Russian forces. The support we have been giving them over the years has proven to be extremely important, and that is why we continue to support Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg gave the same figure of 100,000 US troops in Europe and 40,000 troops under direct NATO command during a press conference Wednesday with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.