Russia ‘to respond’ to US deployments in Eastern Europe

Russia slams US plans to position troops, tanks and other armored vehicles full time along NATO’s eastern borders, saying Moscow is preparing a “completely asymmetrical” response to the deployments.

Russia’s Ambassador to NATO Alexandr Grushko said on Rossiya-24 television on Thursday that Moscow would not act like a “passive observer” but would rather undertake all those military measures needed to counter the “totally unjustified increased military presence.”

“Of course, our response will be completely asymmetrical. It will be calibrated to match our ideas about the degree of military threat, to be most efficient and not overly expensive,” Grushko said.

Since 2014, the US has been intermittently rotating some 4,200 troops in and out of Europe, separately, some 62,000 US military personnel are assigned permanently on the continent.

The Pentagon, however, announced on Wednesday that it is seeking to divide the rotational force among the six eastern NATO member states of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria for permanent presence.

EA