Ukraine conflict: NATO now has 40,000 troops stationed on Europe’s border with Russia

*Paromita Das

Since last year, the number of NATO troops stationed on the alliance’s eastern border has nearly doubled, reaching 40,000. According to NATO records, there were 4,650 troops under direct NATO command in February 2021, a year before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. These soldiers were assigned to four multinational battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.

Then, in response to Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and the trans-Atlantic alliance’s eastward expansion since the 1990s, Russia began deploying troops and capabilities along its shared border with Ukraine, accelerating these moves at the end of last year and beginning of this year, claiming it was a defensive move.
In response to Russia’s troop buildup, NATO and its 30 members bolstered their eastern locations with more soldiers and capabilities.

A month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, there were 40,000 allied forces under direct NATO command, with existing battlegroups significantly strengthened — Poland’s increased from 1,010 men to 10,500 — and four new battlegroups established in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Furthermore, numerous European countries have requested additional US troops under bilateral agreements, bringing the total number of American soldiers in Europe to around 100,000, the highest level since 2005.

As a result of Russia’s aggression, European NATO members have pledged to significantly increase defense spending to meet the alliance’s target of 2% of GDP. NATO members have also begun a policy “reset,” promising to increase deployments and capabilities on the ground, at sea, and in the air. More details on this approach will be revealed at a conference in June.

Furthermore, Sweden and Finland have made formal requests to join the defense alliance, doubling the length of the union’s shared border with Russia.