ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

U.S. defence chief: Russia 'uncoiling and poised to strike'

Share
VILNIUS, Lithuania -

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin assured the three Baltic nations Saturday that they would not be on their own if faced with security threats from Russia, but he stopped short of promising a permanent deployment of American troops in the former Soviet republics.

Austin was in Lithuania as a massive Russian troop buildup and other actions have Western officials saying that Moscow could invade Ukraine at any time, although Russia has denied planning an invasion.

"They are uncoiling and are now poised to strike," Austin said Saturday about the readiness of Russia's troops to attack Ukraine.

Lithuanian officials voiced concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin's alleged ambitions could expand to the entire region.

"The battle for Ukraine is a battle for Europe. If Putin is not stopped there, he will go further," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said during a joint news conference with Austin. "They are choosing the way that is based on force. We need to send a very clear and unambiguous message that it would be faced by a very clear and swift response."

In an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte noted that some European political leaders a few years ago spoke of NATO being "irrelevant."

"Putin must be surprised now by the unity of the West, which is much stronger than ever," Simonyte told The AP. " Now we see how relevant NATO is and how important it is that we have absolute unity of NATO and the European Union. And the most important message to Mr. Putin is that there will be no decisions on countries behind the countries' back. This is what he wants to achieve."

She scolded Western nations for not taking signals coming from Moscow seriously enough in the past years. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and began backing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, including the Donbas region, that same year.

"If the threat from Russia would have been taken seriously by the West, there would have been no Crimea and no Donbas. A lot in the future will depend on how strong the Western reaction will be if Russia invades Ukraine," Simonyte said. "Bad peace is better than a good war. Diplomacy should be given a chance, but there will be no trust (in Russia) anymore and I do not see how it can be restored."

The three Baltic nations -- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- joined NATO on the same day in March 2004, and the alliance operates under the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on them all. Lithuania, a nation of 2.8 million, borders Russian ally Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave.

"I want everyone in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia to know -- and I want President Putin and the Kremlin to know -- that the United States of America stands with our allies," Austin said during the news conference in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

Austin also met with Simonyte, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the defense ministers of Latvia and Estonia on his two-day visit to Lithuania.

Nauseda asked Washington for a permanent deployment of a rotating battalion in the Baltics, emphasizing that the situation in Eastern Europe continues to deteriorate.

"Russia's military buildup on NATO's eastern border changes the overall security situation. Therefore, the decision to reinforce security in the region with additional troops from the United States and to accelerate collaboration on military acquisitions is critical," Nauseda said.

Austin did not comment on the request. United States has deployed regular rotations of battle groups of about 500 soldiers and armored vehicles since 2019.

Germany and The Netherlands said this month that they would increase the number of troops by several hundred soldiers in NATO's battlegroup in Lithuania. The Dutch force is part of NATO' German-led battlegroup deployed in Lithuania since 2017.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

BREAKING

BREAKING

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.