Citing Russia threat, Biden to ramp up US forces in Europe

The United States will ramp up its forces and equipment across Europe including a new permanent army headquarters in Poland in response to threats from Russia, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.

At a NATO summit in Madrid, Biden also underscored the Atlantic alliance's commitment to "defend every inch" of its territory.

"We mean it when we say an attack against one is an attack against all," he told reporters at the start of a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Steps by formerly neutral states Finland and Sweden to enter the alliance would make NATO stronger and all its members more secure, he said. 

US President Joe Biden meets NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the start of the NATO summit at the IFEMA arena in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

"We're sending an unmistakable message ... that NATO is strong, united and the steps we're taking during this summit are going to further augment our collective strength."

Biden said Washington would work with Spain to raise the number of US destroyers based in Rota, Spain to six from four, and send two additional F-35 squadrons to Britain.

He also outlined changes that will continue to boost the number of US forces, air defenses and other weapons in Poland, Romania, the Baltic states and other bases across Europe.

Stoltenberg told Biden the increase demonstrated the US leader's "decisive leadership".

"We're going to make sure that NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions across every domain," Biden said. "...We're proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been."