The alliance is fortifying its eastern borders
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThat was just one among several far-reaching decisions taken by leaders at the summit, which concluded on June 30th. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upturned European security. In response,is growing bigger and beefier, adopting what Mr Stoltenberg described as “the biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defence since the cold war”., and the alliance’s first such document in over a decade.
But the whole concept of the tripwire is now being torn up and replaced with the cold-war philosophy of forward defence. Rather than absorbing Russian blows and then striking back, the point is to stop an invasion in its tracks. To that end, Mr Stoltenberg says that the battlegroups will be enhanced “up to” the levels of brigades, much larger formations with around 3,000 troops apiece.
A similar arrangement is playing out to the south. Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, toldon the sidelines of the summit that Germany had agreed to dedicate a brigade to Lithuania. But a German official says that this, too, is only a “part” deployment, with much of the unit remaining on German soil and only exercising in Lithuania. “The most important thing is: are we getting an actual brigade?” asks Mr Landsbergis. “If we don’t, then very little changes.
Many of the details need to be worked out. Christopher Cavoli, a Russian-speaking American general, is due to take up the post of Supreme Allied Commander Europe , in the coming days. He will write a series of “regional plans”—remarkably, the alliance’s first proper defence plans for the eastern front since the cold war.