Now, after Russia has relapsed into warlike and expansionist habits, the Allies have decided to also deploy such battlegroups in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. The main mission of these groups, made up of soldiers who have been in conflict zones before, is to deter any possible aggressor. „These battle groups (…) are robust and combat-ready forces. They demonstrate the strength of the transatlantic bond. (…). These forces form part of the biggest reinforcement of NATO’s collective defence in a generation”, NATO said.
The group in Romania, which has France as a framework nation, is being set up, as of this month, by transforming the allied multinational elements within the NATO Response Force, deployed here, the Romanian Defense Ministry has also announced. The French battalion deployed in Romania, seen as the spearhead of NATO’s highest readiness force, will form the battlegroup, integrating, on a rotational basis, solders from Belgium and the Netherlands.
The French armed forces have been present in Romania since February 26, 2022. France is in command of the alert battalion of NATO’s Response Force deployed as a matter of urgency after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. A Belgian infantry company is already part of this battalion. France will also deploy an air defense detachment in Romania at the National Training Center for Air Defense in Capu Midia (southeast).All these additional units, foreign policy analysts say, are the allies’ response to Russia’s claims to return to the pre-1997 strategic situation, when the former Soviet satellite states, forcibly (MI) after the last world war, chose after the fall of their dictatorships to join the free world defended by NATO. (Bogdan Matei, Radio Romania International)