Britain is preparing for a major military deployment.
Picture to illustrate: ANP
The United Kingdom is considering providing a large number of troops, weapons, warships and aircraft to NATO. Can be used if tensions escalate over Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to send a “clear message” to the Kremlin about the military deployment. That’s what he said last night.
The large military deployment will reportedly be presented to NATO Military Command next week. That’s double the roughly 1,150 British troops already stationed in Eastern European countries. Defensive weapons are also sent to Estonia. The British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is also on standby to be deployed ‘within hours’, should tensions increase with Russia.
clear message
This package will send a clear message to the Kremlin. “We will not tolerate their subversive activities and will always stand with our NATO allies in the face of Russian hostility,” Johnson said in a statement. “I have instructed our armed forces to prepare to deploy across Europe next week so that we can support our NATO allies.”
Johnson plans to travel to the Ukraine region next week. It has not yet been announced where he will go and when. He also plans to have a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tensions over Ukraine
Tensions over Ukraine have been rising for months, and Russia has more than 100,000 troops standing close to the Ukrainian border. Putin accuses the West of not taking Russia’s security concerns in Eastern Europe seriously, including the presence of Western forces in the region.
The British leader says it would be a disaster for Europe if Putin opted for “bloodshed and destruction”. Ukraine must be free to decide its own future.
More than 900 British soldiers are now stationed in Estonia and more than 100 in Ukraine. They are taking part in a training mission that began in 2015. Another 150 Britons are in Poland.
US President Joe Biden said Friday that he will soon send a small number of military personnel to Eastern European countries and NATO allies. The US Department of Defense has already put 8,500 US military personnel on alert. The families of Ukrainian embassy staff were also removed.
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UK braces for military deployment amid rising tensions over Ukraine