The Pentagon announced on Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is travelling to visit eastern NATO allies in Europe this week amid uncertainty over whether Russia will decide to invade Ukraine. Austin is set to leave on Feb. 15 and will visit Belgium, Poland, and Lithuania to meet with government and military leaders, according to a DOD press release. In Belgium, Austin will meet with allied defense ministers and NATO leadership to discuss the Russian troop buildup along its border with Ukraine, as well as in Belarus and Russia-annexed Crimea. He will also reaffirm U.S. commitment to the Article 5 defense agreement, according to the release. Austin will then head to Poland to meet with rotational U.S. troops at Powidz Air Base and will also meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Minister of National Defense of Poland Mariusz Błaszczak. In Lithuania, Austin will meet with Lithuanian leadership to discuss efforts …
RSS Feed | The Epoch Times