NATO will deploy a permanent full-scale military force on its border with Russia to defend its territory against a future Russian invasion, the alliance’s chief has told The Telegraph newspaper. The smallest, most vulnerable and likely targets of any future invasion by Russia would be the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says NATO is undergoing fundamental change that will reflect the consequences of Vladimir Putin’s actions. “What we see now is a new reality, a new normal for European security,” he said. “Therefore, we have now asked our military commanders to provide options for what we call a reset, a longer-term adaptation of NATO.”
Finland, Sweden expected to join NATO
In the upside-down world of Russian politics, the outright invasion of Ukraine is no reason for anyone else to be nervous. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that NATO is “a tool of confrontation”. This comes as US defence officials said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has been a “massive strategic blunder” which is likely to bring NATO enlargement. Nordic brothers Finland and Sweden have tried to stay neutral but the attack on Ukraine has shifted public opinion in both countries towards membership in NATO. US officials say that could come as early as June.
