The United States will stand with its European allies in the defense of the Baltic countries.

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, the American commander of NATO’s land forces in Europe made the remarks on Tuesday as the alliance assigned an additional headquarters to the region.

“You’re ready to do more and following words with action, and the United States will be there alongside you,” US General Chris Donahue said at a ceremony in the Estonian town of Valga.

“That is how deterrence is built: Not with words from a podium, but with boots in the mud.”

Donahue, who will relinquish his post on Thursday, doubles as chief of the US Army in Europe and Africa.

NATO troops in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and in northern Poland, have until now come under the command of a single multinational headquarters based in the northwestern Polish city of Szczecin.

Creating a second command zone allows the alliance to devote more troops to the Baltic states.

For now, two multinational divisions in Estonia and Latvia will come under the command of the German Netherlands Corps based in the German town of Muenster.

NATO has said Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, could mount a large-scale assault on allied territory as early as 2029 if it continues arming as it is now. The Kremlin denies such plans.

Pressure on Europe to increase its defenses has mounted following criticism from US President Donald Trump, who accuses the bloc of not pulling its military weight.