UK to Double Troops in Eastern Europe Amid Russian Threat

The British government on Sunday announced it will double the number of its troops stationed in Estonia as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to visit the embattled region and hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The British government on Sunday announced it will double the number of its troops stationed in Estonia as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to visit the embattled region and hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a statement posted on the government’s official website, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Russia of jeopardizing the security, peace, and stability of Europe by massing forces on Ukraine’s eastern border and holding so-called “military exercises” in Belarus. Truss also urged Moscow to engage with the West diplomatically and withdraw its increasingly aggressive rhetoric against Kyiv.

The foreign secretary also announced that Johnson will launch a diplomatic offensive in the coming week by holding a phone call with Putin and by visiting Ukraine. Furthermore, the UK will join talks at the UN Security Council and together with the US and allies will pressure Russia to pursue a diplomatic path to the growing crisis.

Along with Johnson’s diplomatic push, Truss will also visit Moscow in the coming week and meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss rising tensions between Moscow and NATO. The former has demanded a withdrawal by the latter from what it sees as its region of influence despite repeated claims by the western military alliance that it has no intention of provoking Moscow.

Alongside his foreign minister, Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday also offered a significant support package to NATO forces stationed in eastern Europe. The offer was made after a request was made to defense and security chiefs to ramp up defensive efforts across the continent.

During a briefing with military officials on the situation in Ukraine, Johnson ordered the deployment of the armed forces across Europe in the coming weeks to ensure support for its allies in NATO and elsewhere via land, sea, and air.

The UK has ramped up supportive efforts to Kyiv in recent weeks by supplying its military with anti-tank missiles. British military advisers have also flown into the country and have trained up to 22,000 Ukrainian regular forces.