The U.S. has placed about 8,500 Standby force Deployments to central and eastern Europe are likely to bolster NATO’s defenses at a time when Western leaders have pledged to form a united front to counter the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Pentagon’s announcement that it is preparing to send additional personnel to NATO’s eastern flank comes as the United States and its allies intensify their response to Russia’s buildup of troops on the Ukrainian border.

“At the direction of the President and the advice of the Secretary [Lloyd] Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States has taken steps in Austin to increase the readiness of its forces at home and abroad.

“If the NATO Response Force is activated, they are prepared to respond to a range of contingencies, including support for the NATO Response Force,” he added.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that Russia has assembled enough troops near Ukraine A “Blitzkrieg” It will try to seize on Kiev and President Vladimir Putin’s insistence that NATO should stop encroaching on Russia’s borders Reinvigorated Whether Finland and Sweden should join a military alliance.

Thank you for reading FirstFT Europe/Africa.Here’s the rest of the news today – Will

Five more stories in the news

1. DWS chief accepts review of more than 160,000 euros “Porsche Payments” Deutsche Bank issues warning to German financial crime watchdog Payment of EUR 160,000 Made by a client to one of its most senior bankers, who later explained it was part of a failed attempt to buy a Porsche.

2. UK businesses calculate the cost of soaring inflation UK companies have warn The risk of their recovery from the pandemic could be undermined by rising inflation as they face the dilemma of how much to pass on to consumers.

3. President of Burkina Faso is overthrown in a military coup Roch Cabore overthrown by a group of soldiers Third military coup in West Africa in eight months. Soldiers announced on state television that they had detained the president, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the National Assembly and closed the country’s borders.

4. Natural gas problems cause industrial blackouts in Turkey Turkey has suffered Production downtime After gas supply problems forced the state to implement a blackout. The Renault joint venture and Turkish automaker Tofas, which is partly owned by Fiat Chrysler, announced yesterday that it will stop production, according to Turkish media reports.

5. Rising UK pension age drives record employment for 65-year-olds An increase in the UK national pension age has led to rrecord high Employment among 65-year-olds. Some 55,000 people will be in paid work by 2021, as the pension age increases from 65 to 66 between late 2018 and late 2020, the study found.

coronavirus digest

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson into a deeper crisis after it emerged he has a birthday party During England’s first lockdown in 2020, when Covid regulations banned indoor social gatherings.

• authorities lifted Chinese cities locked down for a month Xi’an The Beijing Winter Olympics are less than two weeks away.

• German Lufthansa and Swiss-Italian Shipping Group MSC express interest acquire majority stake exist ita airlineswhich shows how the pandemic will reshape some parts of the European aviation industry.

• This we Drug regulators have It is revoked It licenses monoclonal antibody treatments made by Eli Lilly and Regeneron that don’t work well against the Omicron variant.

the day ahead

Italy The country’s presidential election process continues Second round of votingLawmakers released a slew of blank votes in the first round of voting yesterday, delaying action amid intense behind-the-scenes negotiations to resolve the impasse over who to appoint as head of state.

UK HMRC publishes data public sector borrowing.

income data Post today Will reveal how much Sweden’s tough stance on Huawei affects domestic tech firm Ericsson. Japan’s Hyundai Motor, U.S. General Electric and Johnson & Johnson will also report fourth-quarter data.

what are we still reading

ANC rivals step up attack on South African judiciary South African Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu launched a project Boundless attack About the most independent judiciary in Africa and one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. Both have been targeted to wrest control of the African National Congress from President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Paul Polman: Criticisms of ‘Awakening’ Capitalism Are Wrong A more ethically minded business elite must be a good thing in difficult times, the former Unilever CEO wrote. However, not everyone agrees.

Theodore Agnew: Fraud is rampant Former UK efficiency and transformation minister writes that government has failed to deal with fraud – estimated by the public to be worth less than £30bn a year – so appalling, and so desperately in need of a remedy, that he thinks the only option is to smash some crockery and resign to get attention.

How cronyism corrodes workplace relationships and trust When a group is threatened, the instinct may be to stick together rather than act in the best interests of the organization. After all, our ancestors predisposed us to seek advantage through nepotism. these tips Advice on how to outwit our basic instincts.

European Belly Button Gaze With most Western European powers – including the UK, France, Germany and Italy – in the midst of an unstable political transition, they are even less prepared to confront Russia, Gideon Rahman writes.

travel

Every time you take off and land, something extraordinary happens beneath the plane. Mark Vanhoenacker, author and British Airways Boeing 787 pilot, explain Why airplane tires are engineering marvels.