Since February of this year, the grouping of the bloc in Eastern Europe has increased 2.5 timesRussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the joint military board of Russia and Belarus on November 2 announced an unprecedented increase in NATO forces at the borders of the Union State and their threat to the Union State.
Experts note that even the current number is noticeably inferior to the size of NATO units in Europe during the Cold War, but warn that this difference should not be misleading. Izvestia understood what formations the North Atlantic Alliance deployed in the Old World, what this grouping is capable of and what are the prospects for its development.
Growing numbers
Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that the alliance intends to move from "deterring Russia through an advanced presence" to creating a full-scale collective defense system on the "eastern flank", near our borders, increasing the number of armed forces of non-regional NATO states there.
— Since February of this year, the number of their group has grown 2.5 times and is more than 30 thousand people, and in the near future it may increase even more, — said the Russian Defense Minister.
According to the bloc itself, now more than 100 thousand American military are permanently stationed in Europe. The minimum number was in 2018, when, after the decision of US President Donald Trump, the redeployment of troops to bases in the United States began. Then their number fell to 65 thousand soldiers.
Photo: Global Look Press/dpa/Alexander Welscher
Image source: iz.ru
The main part of the NATO multinational contingent reinforced this year at the borders of Russia and Belarus was provided by the United States. To do this, the number of their military personnel in Eastern and Central Europe was raised by an additional 20 thousand people. At the same time, some were transferred from the territory of the United States, some were moved closer to the borders of Russia and Belarus from other European countries, primarily Germany.
On the territory of Poland, the headquarters of the 5th Army Corps and the 1st Infantry Division have been activated, which coordinate all additional units deployed in Eastern and Central Europe. The joint exercises of the United States with the countries of Eastern Europe were also intensified. The transferred troops are constantly involved in the training of armies.
According to American media, the Pentagon does not publish details about the goals and objectives of American troops in Europe and does not allow press representatives to cover their combat training. Some of the American forces have been involved in training at European training grounds of the Ukrainian military, who are learning how to use Western weapons.
Photo: Getty Images/NurPhoto
Image source: iz.ru
Officially, the goal of the United States is declared readiness to "defend every inch" of the territory of the NATO member countries, but in an interview with the correspondents of the American channel CBS, the deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division said that his troops are ready to act in Ukraine if necessary. NATO and Pentagon officials continue to insist that it is planned to use concentrated forces only to protect other members of the alliance and their entry into Ukraine is not being considered.
Enhanced presence
The United States has increased both the land, air and sea components of its presence in Eastern Europe. This year, 3.2 thousand soldiers of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team from the 1st Cavalry Division were additionally deployed in Poland. More than 4 thousand soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division arrived in Poland, Romania and the Baltic States. Their units have been deployed along with helicopters that provide amphibious landings and fire support. The artillery component has also been strengthened, including HIMARS missile launchers.
The matter is not limited to ground troops and paratroopers. The 5th Battalion of the 7th Air Defense Regiment has been deployed in Poland and Slovakia, which is armed with the most modern American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.
An aircraft carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier H. W. Bush (CVN-77) has been deployed to the Mediterranean. 12 F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, along with support units, arrived at airfields in Poland.
US Air Force F-22 Raptor flying with two Polish F-16s, Lask Air Base, Poland, October 12, 2022
Image Source: Photo: TASS/Zuma/Staff Sgt. Danielle Sukhlall
— By the standards of the Cold War, 20 thousand or even 100 thousand military men would not look like a serious indicator, — military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia. — Then there were much more American troops in Europe — about 330 thousand. a person, and after the Second World War the figure reached half a million. A separate infrastructure was built for them, whole towns with their own schools, kindergartens, etc. Families lived there permanently. Now there is no such thing, American contingents in Eastern Europe are present on the principle of rotation.
The comparative smallness should not be misleading. In modern realities, the United States sees its role in high-tech combat support of allies with aviation and precision weapons, and others, such as Ukrainians and Poles, will be used as cheap "cannon fodder". The composition of NATO has grown dramatically over the past 30 years. It was for this role that new members were lured into the block. Such a system has already been tested by the United States in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, the expert noted.
Not only the USA
Since 2017, four multinational combat groups of about 1,000 troops each have been deployed on the eastern flank of NATO in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. In 2022, their number was doubled. Additional units are being formed in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
At the NATO summer summit in Madrid, the bloc agreed to expand these multinational combat groups from the battalion to the brigade level, dramatically increasing their number not only by increasing the presence of the United States, but also at the expense of European NATO countries.
The countries of Eastern Europe themselves are increasing defense spending. At the same time, the Baltic states became the leaders. Poland increases military spending. From 2023, it will spend at least 3% of the country's gross domestic product on them per year. Deliveries of hundreds of heavy armored vehicles have already begun.
Photo: TASS/EPA/DAREK DELMANOWICZ
Image source: iz.ru
The Polish government has signed contracts for the supply of 1.3 thousand new tanks of American and South Korean production. In addition, the country will acquire hundreds of units of self-propelled and artillery systems, as well as high-precision rocket artillery.
Deliveries of howitzers from South Korea to Poland have already begun, but it is planned to complete the ambitious rearmament plan only by 2035. If executed, the country will become the largest user of tanks among all European NATO members. In terms of their number, it will surpass Great Britain, Germany, Italy and France combined. At the same time, unlike the potentially temporary deployment of American and multinational forces at the Russian borders, the Polish group will be there permanently.
Anton Lavrov
