The top US general in Europe has announced that American troops should remain in Europe and additional rotational forces are also needed as the region is threatened by “revanchist Russia.”
The head of US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, made the comments at the Pentagon on Monday.
“Because of the increased pressure that we feel in Eastern Europe now, and because of the assurance measures that we are taking in the Baltics, in Poland and in Romania, we require additional rotational presence,” Breedlove told reporters.
“What we are doing is working with the Army and other services to use their regionally aligned forces to get them forward, to get their experience forward, to bring that capability to interact with our partners and allies,” he added.
There are currently about 67,000 American troops in Europe.
Gen. Breedlove claimed that Moscow is planning to deploy nuclear-powered warplanes in Crimea region.
“Hybrid war is what we are coming to call what Russia has done clearly in Crimea and in eastern Ukraine,” the US general said. “I’m concerned that the conditions are there that could create a frozen conflict.”
He also mentioned to recent NATO reports that an increasingly large number of Russian military aircraft have been tracked flying unannounced into European airspace last month.
Breedlove said Russia wanted to show it can exert influence on the alliance’s calculations.
“My opinion is they’re messaging us. They’re messaging us that they are a great power,” he said.
On Friday, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby warned Russian President Vladimir Putin over the recent flights into the airspace of some European countries.
“We certainly don’t see these increased flights and activity as helpful to the security situation in Europe,” Kirby said.
President Putin should “take concrete, tangible steps to reduce tension, not increase it,” he added.
