NATO Boosts Its Operations In Response to Russia's Moves on Ukraine -- Update

By Naftali Bendavid 

BRUSSELS--The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Wednesday it would increase its flights over allied Baltic nations and send ships to the Mediterranean and Baltic seas in response to what it called Russia's threat to Ukraine.

NATO will also dispatch military personnel to intensify training and exercises in NATO countries in Eastern Europe, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after a meeting of representatives from the alliance's 28 members in Brussels.

"We will have more planes in the air, more ships in the water, and more readiness on the land," Mr. Rasmussen said. "More will follow, if needed, in the weeks and months to come."

Germany has already committed to lead mine-sweeping maneuvers in the Baltic Sea and to contribute six Eurofighter jets to NATO's efforts in the Baltics, the Defense Ministry confirmed in Berlin.

The moves are part of a swing by NATO--which officials say they hope will be temporary--from viewing Russia as a partner to treating it as an adversary following its recent incursion into Ukraine and subsequent annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

More broadly, NATO leaders say it is clear the rules of the game have changed in Europe now that a country has used military force to change international borders for the first time in years.

Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's military commander, said the new measures are designed to last at least until the end of the year.

The actions, which are relatively limited, reflect an attempt to signal NATO's ongoing resolve while avoiding overly aggressive measures the day before a four-party diplomatic meeting in Geneva.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia are to be joined by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

The meeting would be the first high-level encounter between Moscow and the new government in Kiev. But Moscow has threatened to boycott the session if Ukraine used force against pro-Russian separatists who have taken over several cities in eastern Ukraine.

Gen. Breedlove said NATO's moves shouldn't be interpreted by Russia as a provocation.

"It will be very hard to see them as anything except defensive measures they are designed to reassure our allies," he said. He said he would speak to Valery Gerasimov, chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, to "avoid military misinterpretation."

For now NATO isn't permanently moving additional troops or bases into Eastern European members. That has been pushed by some alliance members close to Russia, but would likely be viewed as provocative by Moscow.

But Gen. Breedlove suggested that at some point NATO bases would have to be added. "I do believe we need to consider expanding the number of our air-policing bases," he said. "I think need we need the capacity and capability to do this in broader terms across our alliance."

NATO will also review its array of defense-contingency plans and update them if needed.

Mr. Rasmussen said the new steps would be launched within days.

Following Moscow's annexation of Crimea last month, the U.S. increased to 10 from four the number of planes it had policing the Baltics under NATO auspices. Poland will take over this policing at the end of the month, and its four planes will now be supplemented by British and possibly Danish aircraft.

NATO has also deployed Awacs surveillance craft in Poland and Romania. The U.S., on its own, sent 12 F-16s to Poland for training and dispatched a warship to the Black Sea.

NATO's strategy, like those of the U.S. and the European Union, has been marked by an attempt to balance firmness with caution, and to avoid making it too hard for Russia to back down. The standoff has instantly given NATO a higher profile than it is had in years, just as it was struggling to redefine its mission.

Mr. Rasmussen said he hoped the military activity would be overtaken by diplomacy starting with Thursday's meeting in Geneva.

"We have now taken the military steps that we think at this stage are necessary," he said. "We do hope that the Geneva talks will pave the way for a peaceful and political solution to the crisis."

Anton Troianovski contributed to this article.

Write to Naftali Bendavid at naftali.bendavid@wsj.com