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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned against the increasing possibility of an accidental military strike by Russian forces in a neighboring NATO nation.
“We are ready to protect and defend every inch of NATO allied territory,” he told reporters on Tuesday. But warned, “When we see more military activities, when we see actually fighting going on close to NATO borders, there’s always a risk for incidents and accidents.”
“Therefore, we have to make every effort to prevent such incidents and accidents and if they happen, to make sure that they don’t spiral out of control and create really dangerous situations,” he added.
NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg took questions from reporters.
(NATO)
The secretary-general’s comments came just days after Croatian authorities said an armed Soviet-era drone crashed outside the capital of Zagreb after flying over Romania and Hungry.
“I can say that we are stepping up our vigilance,” Stoltenberg told reporters, adding that preliminary findings show that the drone was not in fact loaded with explosives as claimed by the Croatian Ministry of Defense.
“We are both increasing the capabilities we have to monitor, to track, but also to ensure that we are able to react if needed,” he continued. “If anything, it demonstrates the need to further strengthen integration, further strengthen information sharing among allies, and also to invest more and upgrade everything from radars to our persons of air and missile defense systems.”
Russia has launched more than 900 missiles at Ukrainian targets since the invasion began nearly three weeks ago.
Western targets near the Polish border have been increasingly hit and concerns have mounted that a misguided missile could strike a NATO nation as fighting continues.
Stoltenberg warned that hundreds of thousands of troops have been put on “heightened alert” across Europe, including 100,000 U.S. troops – 40,000 of which are under direct NATO command.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law legislation that could punish journalists with up to 15 years in prison for reporting so-called "fake" news about his military invasion of Ukraine.
(Yuri Kochetkov/Pool)
NATO has increased its air defenses and Patriot missile batteries have been deployed from the U.S. to Poland and Germany. Slovakia is also receiving the missile defensive system from the Netherlands, Stoltenberg confirmed.
Patriot missile batteries are “the only operational air defense system that can shoot down attacking missiles,” according to the U.S. Army.
Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggressive actions have forced the NATO alliance to re-evaluate its posture in Europe.
Top defense officials, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, are set to convene Tuesday to discuss security under the new Russian threat.
The NATO chief said the alliance may look to “substantially” increase the number of troops it has in its Eastern flank, as well as the amount of “pre-positioned equipment.”
Civilians make Molotov cocktails and training amid Russian attacks in Lviv, Ukraine on March 8, 2022.
(Alejandro Martinez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Stoltenberg called on every NATO nation to increase its military investment and to ensure it was spending at least 2% of its GDP on defense – a policy enforced under NATO but that has been long ignored by the many in the 30-member alliance.
“President Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine is causing death and destruction every day,” he said. “It has shocked the world and shaken the national order.”
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