US deployments to Europe in response to Russo-Ukrainian War
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2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2022)
Operation Atlantic Resolve, refers to military activities in response to
Russian operations in
Ukraine, mainly the
War in Donbass. It was funded under the
European Deterrence Initiative. In the wake of Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and the U.K. took several immediate steps to enhance the deterrence posture along the eastern flank of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including augmenting the air, ground and naval presence in the region, and enhancing previously scheduled exercises.[1]
The US described the activities as taking measures to enhance NATO military plans and defense capabilities and maintaining a persistent presence in
Central Europe and
Eastern Europe.[2] Atlantic Resolve rotations are overseen by a regionally aligned headquarters there.[3][4]
Airborne operations
On April 30, 2014
United States Army and
Air Force military members were sent to
Poland and the Baltic States of
Latvia,
Lithuania, and
Estonia to conduct military exercises with partner nations in an immediate response to Russian illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula on March 18, 2014. This was on done on a bilateral basis, not as part of a larger NATO action.[5][6]
The force consisted of four companies of approximately: 150 soldiers from the 173rd BCT (Brigade Combat Team, airborne) out of
Vicenza, Italy and supporting Air Force JTACs (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) from the 2nd ASOS (Air Support Operations Squadron) out of
Vilseck, Germany. Troops were transported with assistance from the USAF 37th Airlift Squadron based out of
Ramstein, Germany. The four companies were rotated out every ninety days through to the end of 2014 when a more formal version of Operation Atlantic Resolve was put into place.[7][8]
In March 2015, a U.S. Army spokesman in
Wiesbaden announced that a convoy of
armored fighting vehicles, including
Strykers, would return via road to their garrison at
Vilseck after manoeuvres in Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania – .[9] The road march started a week later.[10]
On 4 September 2020, the US Army deployed the 2nd Battalion of the
69th Armor Regiment, part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Division, for training in
Pabradė. They deployed with
M1 Abrams,
Bradley Fighting Vehicle, other vehicles, and material.[32]
On 8 March 2022,
V Corps' main headquarters forward deployed to Germany to provide additional command and control of U.S. Army forces in Europe as part of a larger personnel build up in response to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Reactions
82% of Czechs approved and supported the United States Army-NATO convoy that partook in
Operation Dragoon Ride, in an
opinion poll that was conducted by the independent
STEM agency in 2015.[33]
A NATO deployment in the early January 2017 was welcomed by Polish officials, who described it as a necessary response to Russian military exercises near its border and
its military intervention in Ukraine and members of the public as the materiel crossed into south-western Poland from Germany.[34][35][36][37] The same deployment sparked protests in Germany and prompted a critical reaction among the country’s centre-left political parties, but was defended by the country’s ruling Christian Democrat Party (CDU) coalition and German military officials.[38][39]
An article about the deployment that was published by the Donbas News International (DNI) agency and its subsequent circulation in the Western conspiracy-theory cybersphere and Russian mediasphere was cited as an example of
the creation and spread of fake news.[40] An editorial by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cautioned anyone against using the deployment as a domestic political tool.[41]
"Operation Atlantic Resolve".
United States Department of Defense. The United States is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine.