WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama plans to substantially increase the deployment of heavy weapons, armored vehicles and other equipment to NATO countries in central and eastern Europe, a move that administration officials said was aimed at deterring Russia from further aggression in the region.
The White House plans on paying for the additional weapons and equipment with a budget request of more than $3.4 billion for military spending in Europe in 2017, several officials said Monday. That would more than quadruple the current budget of $789 million. The weapons and equipment will be used by U.S. and NATO forces.
Though Russia's military activity has quieted in eastern Ukraine in recent months, Moscow continues to maintain a presence there, working with pro-Russian local forces. Administration officials said the additional NATO forces were calculated to send a signal to President Vladimir Putin that the West remained suspicious of his motives in the region.
The increase is part of an overall budget request of $580 billion for the Pentagon. Obama, according to a defense official, is also going to ask Congress for a 35 percent increase -- $7 billion -- over last year's funding request to fight Islamic State militants.
A Section on 02/02/2016