BERLIN/LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) – The Western military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will strengthen the defense of its eastern flank with a new structure that will facilitate the rapid deployment of forces in Latvia and Estonia in the event of a war with Russia, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Currently, NATO forces in the three Baltic countries, as well as in northern Poland, are under the command of a single multinational headquarters in the Polish city of Szczecin. The planned move emphasizes the strategic importance of the Baltic countries, which have been in focus since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Assigning a second Army Corps to the region will allow NATO to bring ‘mass at speed,’ as one military official described it, addressing the region’s limited strategic depth and vulnerability.
When fully operational, an Army Corps typically commands three divisions, i.e. 40,000 to 60,000 soldiers. In peacetime, it typically exists as a skeleton command structure, with specialized functions such as artillery, air defense, and medical, to enable the rapid deployment of troops when necessary.
Germany and the Netherlands, in coordination with NATO, reached an agreement to designate the German-Dutch Corps, based in the German city of Muenster, for the defense of Latvia and Estonia, military sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
European allies are taking more responsibility for their own security amid fierce criticism from US President Donald Trump, who more recently accused European NATO members of a lack of support in the Iran war and announced that Washington would withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany.
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The agreement overcame the last hurdle, which consisted of a lack of troops for the military unit, the sources said, alluding to the critical capability that any Army Corps needs in areas such as long-range artillery, air defense, as well as engineers and doctors.
Together with other partners, Germany and the Netherlands will now increase these forces, the sources said.
It was not immediately clear when the decision would take effect and how many troops would come under the command of the new headquarters unit in any conflict.
The Dutch Ministry of Defense said the Army Corps designation was ‘currently being worked out’ and declined to give details. The German Defense Ministry declined to comment, citing ongoing coordination efforts with NATO.
NATO said it would respond later.
NATO officials have been warning for years about the increasing threat from Russia, which they say could potentially mount a large-scale attack on allied territory as early as 2029. Moscow denies aggressive intentions and accuses the alliance of fueling tensions by expanding into territory neighboring Russia.
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(Reporting by Sabine Siebold in Berlin; Polina Nikolskaya in London and Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam)
