The United Kingdom has offered to deploy extra land, sea, and air forces to strengthen NATO’s defence on their eastern and northern borders as the tensions over Russia’s ambition of invading Ukraine deepened in the past few days.
The Prime Minister of Britain, Boris Johnson is expected to speak to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin this week and would also travel to the region amidst the intense domestic pressure over a possible leadership change in view of the “party gate” scandal. Boris said that the extra resources are a sign of the nation’s commitment to its Baltic and Nordic allies. The announcement has come after the President of the United State, on Friday, promised to send a small number of American troops to eastern European and Nato countries.
The decision to deploy extra forces was an indication of a clear message to the Kremlin, as per Johnson’s statement. He further added that they will not tolerate the destabilising activity by Russia and they will always stand with their NATO allies against the hostility of Russia. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the additional deployment includes two warships to the Black Sea, rise in the troop numbers and the supply of rocket systems in Estonia, which is located on the border of Russia, and deployment of fast jets to patrol the Romanian and Bulgarian airspace from a base situated in Cyprus.
Officials from the United Kingdom will be travelling to Brussels to finalise the details of the military support later this week. Boris Johnson has also asked his defence and security chiefs to step up their efforts in Europe. He has also told his Foreign and Defence Secretaries to travel down to Moscow and meet their counterparts in Russia. The Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, on Tuesday, will be briefing the cabinet on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Some of the top officials of the United States of America have insisted that the focus should be on diplomacy stating that Russia has now deployed enough troops and equipment near the borders to threaten the whole nation of Ukraine. The top US general, Mark Miley, has warned that an invasion by Russia would be horrific for both sides and will most probably result in a significant number of casualties.
In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, both the United Kingdom and the United States have evacuated their staff and families from embassies located in Kyiv. The Foreign offices of the UK are expected to announce tougher sanctions on Russia.