This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The United States will deploy a Stryker armored-vehicle infantry company for a NATO battle group being established in Bulgaria as the Western alliance moves to shore up its eastern flank in the face of Russian aggression in the region.
The announcement came during a March 19 joint news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.
“The USA agreed to provide a Stryker company. This is a strong sign to all of our allies in NATO,” Petkov said.
Details on the U.S. deployment or when it might take place were not disclosed during the news conference. The Stryker is an eight-wheeled, highly mobile armored combat vehicle that has been used in conflicts around the globe, including in Iraq.
NATO has in the past several years been boosting its assets in the alliance’s Central and Eastern European member states — known as its “eastern flank” — amid aggressive military action by Russia.
Bulgaria is establishing a battle group of some 1,000 troops under the operational command of the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and featuring troops from various alliance members.
Austin said that “I wanted to underscore the importance of the announcement that Bulgaria has established and is leading a NATO multinational battle group. It is an important step and we fully support it.”
Austin is on a two-day trip to Bulgaria following a visit to Brussels and the Slovak capital, Bratislava.
The Financial Times reported that the purpose of his visit was to request Soviet- and Russian-made anti-aircraft systems from countries that have similar types of weapons, such as Bulgaria and Slovakia, to be sent to Ukraine for use by Kyiv’s military.
Slovak defense chief Yaroslav Nad said in Bratislava that Slovakia was ready to provide its C-300 systems if NATO allies provided a replacement system.
Petkov has made it clear that Bulgaria does not plan to send military aid to Ukraine, but he said the country would continue to send humanitarian assistance. He also said Bulgaria would help take in Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has warned against supplying weapons to Ukraine, citing the dangers of involving the Black Sea country more directly in the war.
Petkov’s announcement came after Sofia on March 18 said it was expelling 10 Russian diplomats, accusing them of carrying out activities deemed incompatible with their diplomatic status, a move followed up quickly by the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
