Russia will retaliate, if US stations new tanks in Eastern Europe

Russian defense officials have promised to “reinforce the troops stationed along the country’s western perimeter,” in the event that the United States and its NATO allies decide to transfer new tanks and other heavy weaponry to Eastern Europe.

This announcement was made by Army General Yuri Yakubov, who said a rumored US plan to store tanks and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries would be the “most aggressive step by the Pentagon and NATO since the Cold War.”

Yabukov warned that Russia would respond to such a move by forming new tank, artillery, and aviation units at its western border. 

“Our missile brigade in Kaliningrad will be rearmed rapidly with new ‘Iskander’ tactical missile systems, Russia’s combined-arms forces in Belarus will undergo significant upgrades, and so on,” Yabukov pointed out.

On June 13, The New York Times reported that the United States is poised to deploy new heavy weaponry to the Baltic states and other countries in Eastern Europe. According to the newspaper, the Pentagon is considering transferring weapons that would support as many as 5,000 American troops.

Officials in Poland and Lithuania have confirmed that they are in talks with NATO to host new infusions of weapons. The Baltic states, moreover, have made a concerted effort to get the military alliance to station NATO troops on their territory. In mid-May, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania prepared a request asking NATO to create a brigade in the Baltic states and Poland, stationing a separate battalion in each country.