US General Chris Donahue, the American commander of NATO's land forces in Europe, declared on Tuesday that the United States will stand with its European allies in defending the Baltic countries. The statement came during a ceremony in the Estonian town of Valga, where NATO assigned an additional headquarters to the region.
Deterrence Through Action
“You're ready to do more and following words with action, and the United States will be there alongside you,” Donahue said. “That is how deterrence is built: Not with words from a podium, but with boots in the mud.” Donahue, who will relinquish his post on Thursday, also serves as chief of the US Army in Europe and Africa.
NATO troops in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, as well as in northern Poland, have until now been under the command of a single multinational headquarters based in Szczecin, northwestern Poland. The creation of a second command zone allows the alliance to allocate more troops to the Baltic states.
New Command Structure
For now, two multinational divisions in Estonia and Latvia will fall under the command of the German Netherlands Corps, headquartered in the German town of Muenster. NATO has warned that Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, could mount a large-scale assault on allied territory as early as 2029 if it continues its current arms buildup. The Kremlin denies such plans.
Pressure on Europe to enhance its defenses has intensified following criticism from US President Donald Trump, who accuses the bloc of not contributing enough militarily.
NATO's Determination
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that the shift in NATO's posture demonstrates the alliance's resolve to defend every inch of allied territory. “It is a visible and strong demonstration of NATO’s unity, readiness, and of our collective determination to defend every inch of Allied territory,” he said in Valga.
When fully operational, an army corps typically commands three divisions, or 40,000 to 60,000 troops. In peacetime, it exists as a skeleton command structure with specialist functions such as artillery, air defense, and medics in place to allow rapid troop deployment when needed.
Historical Context
The Multi-National Corps Northeast in Szczecin has been responsible for the entire region until now. It was established in 2017, three years after Russia annexed Crimea. A second corps in charge of Baltic defense would enable NATO to bring in “mass at speed,” a military official said on condition of anonymity.
