NATO's military commander in Europe, Philip Breedlove, has asked the Pentagon for more troops and combat equipment due to a continuous Russian threat, the Yevropeiska Pravda online newspaper has reported, citing Stars and Stripes.
In particular, Breedlove stressed the need to strengthen the alliance's presence in the Baltic States, Poland and Romania.
"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. 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," Breedlove said.
In addition, speaking about the situation in Ukraine, Breedlove said that the Ukrainian-Russian border in the conflict zone had been almost erased, Washington Examiner reported.
"The Ukraine-Russia border is wide open in these spaces," he said.
He said that seven military brigades were constantly changing their location in Russia's border areas, so it was hard to identify the exact number of soldiers there.