||| Daniel Raustadt | Dreamstime.com |||
NATO’s buildup near Russia’s border has led to the delivery of hundreds of US tanks, trucks and other military equipment at the German port of Bremerhaven from where they’ll be transferred to Eastern Europe. Despite the NATO buildup which has exacerbated tensions with Moscow, the equipment was shipped to Germany from where it will be transported by rail and road to Eastern Europe. Accompanying the equipment was 3,500 US troops that are to be deployed along the NATO’s eastern frontier.
Reports from RT pointed out that the resolve cargo ship arrived on Wednesday as two more vessels identified as Freedom and Endurance are expected to arrive in Germany on Sunday, according to Deutsche Welle reports. The process of unloading started on Friday, the heavy equipment will be transported via rail and road to Poland.
In a report issued by Reuters, the U.S. has plans of delivering a total of 87 Abrams M1A1 tanks, 20 Paladin Artillery vehicles and 136 Bradley fighting vehicles to Eastern Europe. There has also been reports that state that four thousand troops will be spread across Poland, the Baltic States, Bulgaria and Romania where they’ll be on a rotation basis.
Joint massing drills are scheduled to be conducted by the Polish and US troops in Poland later this month, NATO claims that this move is aimed at reassuring European allies amid the face of aggressive Russian tact’s.
50 Black Hawk helicopters, 10 CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade and 1,800 personnel alongside a separate aviation battalion with 400 troops and 24 Apache helicopters are scheduled for deployment in Eastern Europe.
“The best way to maintain the peace is through preparation,” US Major General Timothy McGuire explained, adding that the deployment is about “just showing the strength and cohesion of the alliance and the US commitment to maintain the peace on the continent.”
Troops from Germany, Canada and the UK will be hosted by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, each of these nations will send 1,000 servicemen.
The military buildup near Russia’s borders has been called out by NATO as a defensive measure following Moscow’s reunion with Crimea in 2014 and the alleged involvement in the Ukraine crisis. A statement made by Russia states that the military buildup is undermining the security balance on the European continent.
Military.com reported that Pentagon shipped more than 600 containers of ammunition for Army and Airforce units located in Europe back in November 2016. This was the largest single shipment of US ammunition for more than two decades.
The Kremlin responded by deploying the most modern weaponry and armaments on its western borders, this included the enclave region of Kaliningrad alongside large-scale military drills.
