NATO Considers Deploying Combat Groups in the Black Sea Region, Stoltenberg Says

NATO is considering the possibility of deploying combat groups in Romania. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced this during a press conference held with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“We are now exploring the possibility of a long-term presence of the alliance in the southeast. Currently, we have combat groups in the Baltic states and Poland. We are looking at the possibility of deploying similar groups in Romania, in the Black Sea region,” he stated.

Stoltenberg also added that the Ukrainian army is now significantly better prepared than in 2014. “They (the Ukrainian defense forces) are better equipped, better trained, and better led,” he said.

According to Stoltenberg, “The UK and other allied countries are providing support to the Ukrainian defense forces so they can defend themselves; it is the right of every nation.” In recent months, the West has accused Moscow of preparing to “invade” Ukraine and has bolstered its presence in Eastern Europe.

Russia has rejected all insinuations, emphasizing that troops are being stationed within its own territory and reminding that it is not involved in the internal Ukrainian conflict and does not violate any agreements, unlike Kyiv, which has failed to uphold the Minsk agreements.

The document calls for constitutional reforms, a ceasefire, and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line. Moscow has repeatedly urged an end to the arms transfers to the region, as this could provoke Kyiv into military adventurism.