Nato will today announce a plan to bolster its military presence in the east of Europe, amidst continuing fighting in Ukraine.
The alliance’s defence ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday and are expected to announce a new rapid reaction "spearhead" force of up to 5,000 troops, the biggest reinforcement since the end of the Cold War.
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc was responding to "the aggressive actions we have seen from Russia, violating international law and annexing Crimea."
"I very much underline that this is something we do because we have to adapt our forces when we see that the world is changing."
US Secretary of State John Kerry is currently in Kiev to hold talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, as the US considers whether to send weapons to help Ukraine to fight against pro-Russian rebels.