Britain considering major Nato deployment amid Ukraine crisis
- Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to visit the region next week, and also will speak to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin by phone
- ‘I have ordered our Armed Forces to prepare to deploy across Europe next week, ensuring we are able to support our Nato allies,’ Johnson said
Britain is considering making a major Nato deployment as part of a plan to strengthen Europe’s borders in response to Russia massing troops on the border with Ukraine, the government said on Saturday.
Britain has said that any Russian incursion into Ukraine would be met with swift sanctions and would be devastating for both sides.
Johnson is considering the biggest possible offer to members of the Nato defence pact in the Nordics and Baltics, which would double troop numbers and send defensive weapons to Estonia, his office said.
“This package would send a clear message to the Kremlin – we will not tolerate their destabilising activity, and we will always stand with our Nato allies in the face of Russian hostility,” Johnson said in a statement.
“I have ordered our Armed Forces to prepare to deploy across Europe next week, ensuring we are able to support our Nato allies.”