A report in the New York Times claims the US is planning to transfer heavy military equipment to the Baltic states and East European nations. If true
A report in the New York Times claims the US is planning to transfer heavy military equipment to the Baltic states and East European nations.
If true it would be the first time since the Cold War that the US has stationed weapons in the new NATO countries that were once allied with Moscow.
The article quotes unnamed officials claiming the Pentagon is poised to send tanks, armoured vehicles and other heavy weaponry sufficient for a force of around 5000 troops.
The paper says the countries would include the three Baltic states as well as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Hungary.
An official is quoted as saying the the move is to reassure US NATO allies who are uneasy about Russian intervention in Ukraine, as well as to deter further aggression.
In a statement a Pentagon spokesman said no decision has yet been taken on the storage of military equipment.
But the paper claimed the proposal is expected to be approved by the US Defence Secretary Ash Carter before a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels later this month.