Stoltenberg: NATO is preparing to strengthen its collective security
NATO is preparing for a "major strengthening" of collective security in response to the growing aggressiveness of Russia. On Monday, November 7th, the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, made this announcement to the British newspaper The Times.
According to him, NATO is forced to respond to the challenge because Russia has significantly increased its military capacity for several years. Since 2000, they increased defense spending thrice. They use military force against its neighbors and they extensively use propaganda in Europe among allies of the alliance.
Stoltenberg said that NATO plans to put into a strengthened readiness mode several hundred thousand soldiers in the member countries of the organization. The NATO Secretary General did not name more precise numbers. In turn, the British Ambassador to NATO Adam Thomson said to the newspaper that the goal is to deploy up to 300,000 soldiers into the war zone in two months.
Already in 2014, NATO countries agreed to create a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), dubbed the "spearhead.” The force numbers 5,000 soldiers and Germany will play the leading role among them from 2019. This unit is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF) totaling 40,000 soldiers.