UK plans ‘major military deployment’ in the face of Russian ‘enmity’

London, January 29 (EFE). The UK will offer NATO this week to contribute a “significant military deployment” to “strengthen Europe’s borders” and counter “enmity” against Russia, the British government put forward today.

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will put on the table “the largest possible offer” to add fighters, warships and “military specialists” from the British Army to Atlantic Alliance operations, Downing Street, his official office, detailed in a statement.

“I have directed our armed forces to prepare to deploy to Europe next week to ensure we are ready to support our NATO allies by land, sea and air,” Johnson said.

Downing Street indicated that representatives of the British executive branch will travel to Brussels in the coming days to finalize with NATO partners details of the “potential dispatch” of troops, while the Executive Cabinet will analyze the “military options” on the table on Monday. .

Johnson said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin chose “the path of bloodshed and destruction, it would be a tragedy for Europe,” but that “Ukraine should be free to decide its own future.”

London’s plans include doubling the number of troops it currently maintains in the region and sending more “defensive weapons” to Ukraine.

The UK currently has more than 900 of its military personnel in Estonia, over a hundred in Ukraine – part of Operation Orbital, to train troops from Kiev – as well as a contingent of 150 soldiers in Poland.

The government said the new resources to be contributed by the British military now should serve to “strengthen NATO defences” and “support support for Nordic and Baltic partners”.

“This package will send a clear message to the Kremlin: We will not tolerate its destabilizing activities and will always stand with our NATO allies in the face of Russian hostility,” the prime minister added.

Johnson plans to hold phone talks with Putin in the coming days, and also plans to visit the region, details of which have not been announced at the moment.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace plans to travel this week to Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, while Secretary of State Liz Truss will increase her diplomatic activity in Europe. EFE

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