Cold War 2: NATO continues to deploy more troops to East Europe.

"The United States and NATO are working together to counter violent extremism and Russian destabilization efforts", said US Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. European Command, during a press conference. The United States has responded to the threat by deploying rotation forces to Europe, to include an armored brigade combat team and a combat aviation brigade.

A U.S. Soldier with the 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, unloads a reconnaissance vehicle in Tapa, Estonia on March 8, 2018 as part of a rapid response readiness exercise in support of Atlantic Resolve. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Hubert D. Delany III/22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)

The U.S. and its allies have enhanced its presence in Europe to counter what Scaparrotti described as Russian activities aimed at exerting influence, spreading disinformation and diminishing confidence in NATO. A come back to the Cold War, but more close to the East part of Europe. The name Cold War was given to the relationship that developed primarily between the USA and the USSR after World War Two.

Since 2014, NATO has implemented the biggest increase in its collective defence since the Cold War. NATO has now deployed four multinational battle groups to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Their purpose is not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent one.

The U.S. and NATO have been working for nearly four years to reconfigure alliance forces in Europe, with more units deployed to potential hot spots such as the Baltic states and Poland. The United States has created logistics stocks in Europe that will suffice to additionally deploy up to 300,000 soldiers.

"Together with NATO, the U.S. has made significant progress,” he said, "but we have much work to do as we execute our National Defense Strategy, fielding an increasingly lethal, agile and resilient joint force in long-term strategic competition with Russia and ready to counter violent extremists organizations."

Other actions include doubling the maritime deployments to the Black Sea, as well as theater anti-submarine warfare operations and bomber assurance and deterrence missions. Fifth generation fighters have been deployed to Europe for the first time.

Chief of Russia’s General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov told an annual briefing for foreign military attaches in late December that NATO was continuing to expand its military presence in Eastern Europe.

According to the chief of Russia’s General Staff, the structure and the combat capabilities of the US Army grouping in Europe are expanding through the deployment of ground forces and marine infantry in Europe on a rotating basis and also through the creation of additional inventory stocks on the territory of European states.