3,000 U.S. troops, under a NATO banner, are arriving in Poland and six other E
astern European countries in what a Kremlin spokesman calls a threat to Russia
's interest and security.
deployment, which includes more than 80 main battle tanks and hundreds of armo
red vehicles, is part of NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve, which was launched
in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The operation, representing the largest U.S. military reinforcement of Europe
in decades, calls for a unit rotation every nine months.
The armored brigade combat team, based in Colorado, arrived in Germany last we
ek. The group is gathering at a NATO and Polish base in Wroc aw, in southwest
Poland, before fanning out to six other NATO countries in the Russian neighbo
rhood, including the former Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that any country would
regard a buildup of foreign military presence near its borders negatively.
"This is precisely the way we see it," he said, Russia's TASS news agency repo
rted. "We interpret this as a threat to us and as actions that endanger our in
terests and our security."
U.S. concern over possible Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, as well as th
e Baltics, was underscored by a visit last week to the former Soviet states of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — now NATO allies — by three U.S. senators, i
ncluding John McCain, Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committ
ee. The three also visited a former military post in Ukraine.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/12/arrival-us-troops-poland-sparks-
kremlins-ire/96481698/