US to Ship 1,600 Tanks to Dutch Arms Depot in ‘Clear Message’ to Russia
a combined-arms battalion-sized set of vehicles and equipment pre-positioned
at Germany’s Grafenwoehr Training Area. Markus Ruachenberger/U.S. Army.
- US to Ship 1,600 Tanks to Dutch Arms Depot in ‘Clear Message’ to Russia
by https://www.rt.com/
The US has started moving tanks to a storage facility in the Netherlands in a bid to “deter” Russia, amid the biggest NATO buildup in Europe since the Cold War.
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A total of 1,600 vehicles are due to be stored at a six-warehouse complex in the southeastern village of Eygelshoven, near the Belgian and German borders. The Eygelshoven facility was originally opened in 1985 during the Cold War, when it was used by US troops to practice drills in case of a possible Soviet attack.
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Abrams Tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Paladin artillery have already started arriving in what is part of a $3.4 billion Congress-approved scheme to increase NATO military capability in Europe. Storage sites are also planned to be reopened in Poland, Belgium and Germany.
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The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017, which was approved by Congress on December 8 but has yet to be signed by Barack Obama, approved a $3.4 billion spending plan to boost European defenses. The Baltic states, as well as Poland, have said they have been greatly alarmed by the crisis in Ukraine and fear “Russian aggression” on their territories.
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“When visiting the Baltic states, I experienced this for myself. Standing there, near the Russian border, you could feel the tense atmosphere,” said General Tom Middendorp, the Dutch chief of defense.
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“But the Russian military activities are not just a concern for our eastern allies. They are a concern for all of us.”
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“We are taking proportionate and measured steps to defend our alliance. We want to make sure we are sending a clear signal to Russia that we will not accept any violation of NATO’s territorial integrity.”
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