NATO Response Force

Greek Captain Fotis Paraskevas took over the command duties of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Maritime Group Two (SNMCMG2) with the handover ceremony taking place at the Naval Base La Spezia in Italy on Friday, as was announced by the Hellenic National Defense General Staff on Monday. 

NATO has made progress in strengthening its eastern flank, with four new multinational battle groups in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria reaching their first level of combat readiness. This was announced by the DPA news agency, citing a spokesman for the North Atlantic Alliance.

Greece is backing NATO forces in the Alliance's east wing with light anti-aircraft artillery in line with its commitment to join the NATO Response Force (NRF), which was activated immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, BGNES reported.

Bulgarian Defense Minister Denied the News that Greek military will Strengthen the Army

Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn said that by the end of May, NATO would set up battlegroups in all countries "from the Baltic to the Black Sea" to strengthen the alliance's eastern flank.

Additional US troops on alert in Eastern Europe will not be part of the 8,000 US troops ready to support the NATO Response Force, said Defense Secretary John Kirby.

The United States has put 8,500 troops on High Alert to be Sent in Europe

Podgorica – Defence Minister Matej Tonin was on a working visit to Montenegro on Friday to meet his counterpart Olivera Injac in Podgorica and attend the To Be Secure international security forum in Budva, the Defence Ministry said in a press release.

The Polish army will take charge of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said the organization in a statement on Dec. 30. 

Poland will take over the duty from Germany on Jan.1, 2020 and will hand over to Turkey in 2021.

NATO would not be able to rebuff a potential Russian attack on its eastern flank, according to an internal report cited on October 20 by German weekly Der Spiegel.

The paper, titled Progress Report On The Strengthened Deterrence And Defense Capability Of The Alliance, pointed to significant deficiencies.

The defence ministers of the NATO member countries are meeting in Brussels on Thursday over the situation in Syria and Afghanistan.

In a doorstep statement, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg highlighted the many challenges the Alliance is facing at present - conflict, instability, insecurity and a refugee crisis.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said June 22 the alliance will approve plans this week to more than double the size of its rapid response force, having already created a special spearhead unit in the fallout from the Ukraine crisis.