The “major” military deployment will reportedly be presented to NATO’s military leadership next week. This is double the roughly 1,150 British troops already in Eastern European countries, as well as the ‘defense weapons’ that could be sent to Estonia. The British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is also on standby to deploy “within hours” if tensions escalate further, the prime minister’s office said.

“This package will send a clear message to the Kremlin – we will not tolerate their disruptive activities and we will always support our NATO allies in the face of Russian hostility,” Johnson said in a statement. “I have instructed our armed forces to prepare to deploy across Europe next week so we can support our NATO allies.”

Putin’s phone call

Johnson plans to travel to Ukrainian territory next week, although it has not been announced where he will be going and when. He also plans to have a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Tensions in Ukraine have been rising for months and Russia has more than 100,000 troops manning the Ukrainian border. Putin accused the West of not taking Russia’s security issues in Eastern Europe seriously, including the presence of Western troops in the region.

The British leader, who is currently under pressure at home over a number of lockdown scandals, said it would be disastrous for Europe if Putin chose “bloodbath and destruction.” “Ukraine should be free to determine its own future.”

More than 900 British military personnel are now stationed in Estonia and more than 100 in Ukraine, taking part in the training mission which began in 2015. About 150 other Britons are in Poland.

US President Joe Biden said on Friday he would “soon” send a small number of troops to Eastern European countries and NATO allies. The US Department of Defense has placed 8,500 US military personnel in readiness for deployment in Eastern Europe.

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