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"NATO will have a total of eight Allied battalions on the eastern flank following tomorrow's expected decision at an extraordinary meeting of Allied heads of state and government," Pact Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference ahead of tomorrow's meeting in Brussels.

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He clarified that it is planned to approve the deployment of such combat forces in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, and that battalions already exist in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.

According to him, this is only a "first step" and the presence on the eastern flank will increase in the long run due to the war in Ukraine.

The next decisions are expected to be adopted in June.

In response to a question, Stoltenberg said that most of the eight battalions are already on the ground, under international command, with significant participation of troops from the host countries.

He explained that the battalions will remain in place as long as necessary.

Stoltenberg explained that since 2014, the number of allied forces on the eastern flank has doubled, and now the number of battalions is doubling.

He pointed out that 40,000 fighters are under the direct control of the Alliance, and hundreds of thousands are on high alert.

The secretary general called on Russia to end the war immediately and move to diplomacy.

According to him, the use of any weapon of mass destruction will change the nature of the conflict.

"Russia must stop talking about nuclear weapons - it is dangerous and irresponsible. In a nuclear war there will be no winner, such a war should not be allowed. Russia can never win such a war," he added.

"NATO has plans to protect against any threat," Stoltenberg said.

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He said the pact would need to double defense spending.

"Peace is not a given," he said.

"We have a responsibility to keep the war out of Ukraine's borders and into a clash between NATO and Russia, which would lead to even more destruction and death," Stoltenberg said.

He added that Ukraine's membership in NATO is not on the agenda.

Stoltenberg called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, ensure evacuation and move towards real diplomacy.

He urged Belarus to stop complicating Russia's actions against Ukraine.

According to him, it is necessary for China to fulfill its obligations as a member of the UN Security Council, to condemn Russia's actions and not to provide Moscow with material support for the war.

According to the NATO leader, Beijing supports Moscow politically by spreading misinformation and "obvious lies".

Stoltenberg said that tomorrow NATO is expected to decide to provide additional assistance to Ukraine for cyber defense and measures in response to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threats.

He noted that the allies are already helping Kyiv by providing air defense, drones, fuel, ammunition, finance and sheltering millions of refugees.

According to him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to take part in tomorrow's meeting online.

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