One Month Russia Invades Ukraine: Increases Military Strength, NATO Will Have Eight Combat Groups In Eastern Europe

NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is ready to increase its presence in Eastern Europe, to counter Russian aggression amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday ahead of an important summit of member states' leaders.

"I hope the leaders will agree to strengthen NATO's posture in all domains with a major increase in strength in the eastern part of the alliance, on land, in the air, and at sea. The first step is the deployment of four new NATO combat groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, Belgium, quoted from the Daily Sabah March 24.

He said, with the new battle groups and existing forces in the Baltic states and Poland, NATO would have eight multinational groups along the alliance's eastern flank.

Stoltenberg added that the Ukraine crisis has shown that NATO must reorganize its deterrence and defense posture, in the long term.

The month-long invasion has forced more than 3.5 million people to flee, brought Russia's unprecedented economic isolation, raising fears of a wider conflict in the West unthinkable for decades.

The United Nations human rights office in Geneva said on Tuesday it had recorded 953 civilian deaths and 1,557 injuries since the invasion. The Kremlin denies targeting civilians.