Nato puts up to 300,000 troops on ‘high alert’ as tensions rise with Russia

Rising tensions with Russia mean that up to 300,000 Nato troops will be put on ‘high alert’, said Nato’s secretary-general.

The move is a response to Russian weapons tests and aggression against neighbours, said Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of Nato.

The troops will come from nations across Nato, including the UK.

Mr Stoltenberg said, ‘We have seen Russia being much more active in many different ways.

‘We have seen a more assertive Russia implementing a substantial military build-up over many years – tripling defence spending since 2000 in real terms; developing new military capabilities; exercising their forces and using military force against neighbours.

‘We have also seen Russia using propaganda in Europe among Nato allies and that is exactly the reason why Nato is responding. We are responding with the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War.’

Britain’s outgoing Nato representative Sir Adam Thompson said the number of troops being put on alert was likely to be 300,000.