NATO enhancing military presence in eastern part of Alliance due to Russia's actions in Ukraine - Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the decision to deploy battalions on the eastern borders of the Alliance was made in proportionate response to the actions of Russia in Ukraine.

"No one in NATO really discussed or addressed the possibility of this kind of forward presence of NATO forces in the eastern part of the alliance before Ukraine, so this a defensive proportionate response to the actions of Russia in Ukraine, illegally annexing Crimea," he said at a press conference after the NATO Summit in Warsaw.

"And we have decided to enhance our military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance. With four battalions here in Poland, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on a rotational basis," he said.

"What we have seen is a Russia which has invested heavily in modern defence capabilities over many years, which has modernized its forces, its equipment, and has used military force against a sovereign nation in Europe, violating Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that's the reason why we have increased our presence in the eastern part of the alliance," he said.