Stars and Stripes reports that “more NATO ships, warplanes and troops will soon be headed to eastern Europe in response to Russia’s pressure on Ukraine, the alliance’s top official said Wednesday. But NATO’s efforts to reassure wary allies appear to stop short of establishing a permanent forward presence in the region.”  

“’We will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water, and more readiness on the land,’ NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council.”  

“Among the measures to be taken include an intensification of NATO air policing missions over the Baltic region and more allied ships bound for the Baltic Sea, eastern Mediterranean and other regions as required, Rasmussen said. However, he made no mention of sending additional ships to the Black Sea, where Russia has the bulk of its fleet. The USS Donald Cook has been deployed to the Black Sea, and on Monday, a Russian fighter jet engaged in a ‘provocative’ act toward the destroyer.”