NATO will establish additional multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. This was stated on Thursday, March 24, in a statement following the emergency summit of the alliance.
It is noted that the creation of groups will be a response to the Russian special operation to protect Donbass. The alliance said that this measure will help ensure the safety of all allies of the alliance.
“We are creating four additional multinational battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. We are taking all necessary measures and decisions to ensure the security and protection of all allies in all regions and with an integrated approach, ”the statement says. statement.
The alliance noted that NATO has already deployed 40,000 troops on the eastern flank.
In addition, the alliance announced its intention to strengthen support for Ukraine.
“The Allies expressed their intention to strengthen support for Ukraine, including cybersecurity and countering chemical and nuclear threats,” the document says.
On March 23, Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO does not consider itself part of the conflict in Ukraine and is not going to send forces there. On March 20, he noted that the North Atlantic Alliance supports Ukraine. At the same time, he called it extremely important to prevent the current conflict from escalating into a full-scale war between NATO and Russia.
Prior to this, on March 17, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Western countries would continue to provide humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine, as well as supply weapons to the country’s military. However, Scholz stressed that NATO would not interfere in the situation militarily.
At the end of February, the leadership of the alliance announced that it would increase its presence on the eastern flank of the bloc, in particular in the three Baltic republics – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia “to prevent an attack on NATO territory.”
In mid-February, due to the aggravation of the situation in the Donbass as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) announced the evacuation of the civilian population to the Russian Federation and asked for recognition of independence.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding decree. On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. As the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov clarified, the special operation has two goals – the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. According to him, both of these aspects pose a threat to the Russian state and people.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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