The proposal, which is expected to be put to a meeting of the chiefs of staff[/B] of NATO member states[/B] in the coming week, if accepted, would double the British contingent of around 1.150 troops currently deployed in Eastern Europe and provide "defensive weapons" to Estonia, according to Downing Street.
"This package will send a clear message to the Kremlin - we will not tolerate their destabilising activity and will always stand by our NATO allies in the face of Russian hostility," the statement released late Saturday night underlined.
"I have ordered our Armed Forces to prepare to deploy troops to Europe within the next week so that they can provide ground, air and naval support to our NATO allies," Boris Johnson said.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses the path of "bloodshed and destruction" in Ukraine, it will be a tragedy for all of Europe," he added. Ukraine must remain free to choose its own future," he added.
The British prime minister, who has been under intense political pressure in recent weeks from a series of scandals linked to parties held on Downing Street during the lockdown, said on Friday he would contact Putin by phone in the coming days to urge him to "back down" and engage diplomatically to resolve the crisis with Ukraine.
The head of the British government is also expected to travel to the region in the coming days.
Russia-West
relations are at their lowest point since the Cold War.
[/P][BR][BR]Russia[/B] has deployed tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine's borders, raising fears of an invasion of its neighbor. While the Russian government denies any such plans, it insists on receiving written guarantees for Russia's security, including a promise that Ukraine will not join NATO.
The British Foreign Office is expected on Monday to notify the House of Commons of a tightening of the sanctions regime that would allow the UK - accused of turning a blind eye to the influx of Russian funds into its territory - to target Moscow's strategic and economic interests.
In an article published on Friday in the daily financial newspaper, CityAm, Tory Conservative MP Tom Tugentat and chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, stressed that the Russian threat comes not only from "tanks" but also from "cash".
The planned deployment of warships, fighter planes and ground troops will strengthen NATO's defences and "cement the UK's support for its Scandinavian and Baltic partners", the UK Prime Minister's Office statement also underlined.
Nearly 900 British troops have already deployed to Estonia and around 100 are in Ukraine as part of a training mission that began in 2015.
Around 150 soldiers from a light armoured unit are currently in Poland.
Britain's Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, which is in the Arctic region at the head of NATO's naval rapid intervention detachment, is on alert "in case tensions continue to rise," Downing Street said.
On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State Liz Truss and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace are due to travel to Moscow for talks with their Russian counterparts in the coming days.
"They will work to improve relations with President Putin and encourage de-escalation," according to Downing Street."
Source: APM
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