Vilnius, Lithuania, Feb. 19, 2022 - Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, visiting with the leaders of the frontline NATO states in Vilnius, Lithuania, said that Russia has been building its capabilities in and around Ukraine and in Belarus for months. Those forces "are uncoiling and are now poised to strike," he said.
He noted that the United States has deployed a 4,000-soldier infantry brigade combat team from the 82nd Airborne Division to Poland. A Stryker squadron from the 2nd Cavalry has taken 1,000 U.S. soldiers to Romania. Another Stryker company is moving to Bulgaria and still another is deploying to Hungary.
On top of this, 8,500 U.S. service members are on heightened alert, should the North Atlantic Council activate the NATO Rapid Response Force.
And the United States is not alone. The NATO allies are solidly united against Russia's actions. "Rather than sowing divisions among allies — which we know Mr. Putin would like to see — NATO has shored up its defense and deterrence posture," Austin said. "Mr. Putin says he doesn't want to see a strong NATO on his western flank. That's exactly what he's getting."
The Russian forces are uncoiling, the secretary said, and moving closer to the Ukrainian border. "That facilitates their onward movement," he said.
The forces Putin has put in place — combat forces, logistics units, aviation, hospitals, command and control nodes and more — are the capabilities needed to strike. "Having done this before, I can tell you that that is exactly what you need to attack and the and the stance that you need to be in to attack," the career soldier said in answer to a question.
The United States has roughly 500 soldiers deployed in Lithuania on a rotational basis. Lithuanian leaders called for reinforcements considering Putin's moves against Ukraine and would like to see the American presence in the country become permanent.
Landsbergis said Lithuania sees Putin trying to build on successes he had in 2008 when Russian troops wrested two provinces away from Georgia, and in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea and destabilized eastern Ukraine. "We're saying that the battle for Ukraine is a battle for Europe," he said. "If [Putin is] not stopped there, he will go further. And so, we cannot let Putin have this success."
Excerpted from release by Jim Garamone, DOD;
Soldiers fire a cannon from a tank during training at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland.Photo by Army Spc. Hedil Hernandez
Published with permission of DOD.
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