These forces were the first to be put on alert to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, activating at the end of February.
The heads of state and government of NATO will agree at this week’s summit in Madrid to increase the number of rapid response forces to “more than 300,000”, which facilitate an agile reaction in case of emergencies, announced Monday the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg.
In a press conference prior to the summit, Stoltenberg has outlined the lines of a summit that he hopes will be “transforming” for the Alliance, both in military and political terms. A new strategic framework will serve as a ‘road map’ for the coming years and will include some practical commitments.
“We will transform the NATO Response Force and we will increase the number of our high readiness forces. To more than 300,000,” said Stoltenberg, who has also confirmed the reinforcement of some of the battalions deployed in Eastern Europe at the level of brigades.
These forces were the first to be put on alert to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, activating at the end of February. They are made up of up to 40,000 troops with the capacity to deploy to any scenario within five days and for a maximum of 30.
The head of NATO has explained that, as a whole, this is the largest review of the collective deterrence and defense system since the Cold War, but he considers that the situation requires it, after the “brutal invasion” ordered of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In fact, Russia is “the greatest and most direct threat” to NATO’s security today and, with this country, dialogue “is not on the table” today. Stoltenberg has lamented this distancing, but has assured that there is no more than “responding” to the new reality.
NATO is “ready” to protect allies and, in this sense, Stoltenberg trusts that Putin understands what the “consequences” of launching another new attack would be.