(VOVworld) – The command center for four NATO battalion groups stationed in Poland and the three Baltic countries is likely to be based in Elblag, within a hundred kilometers of Russia’s Kaliningrad.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz walks in front of US Army soldiers representing units participating in the the Anaconda-16 military exercise, during the opening ceremony, in Warsaw on June 6.(Photo: AP/Alik Keplicz)

Poland's Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said on Wednesday that these battalions are capable of countering air as well as land threats and have their own intelligence systems. He added NATO’s decision to deploy troops on its Eastern flank in response to imminent threats is the first step by NATO, the world’s largest military alliance, to increase its presence in the region.

Tensions between NATO and Russia have been escalating. Russia has criticized NATO’s eastward expansion and recently announced plans to place three new divisions in its Western and Southern borders.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the group will hold talks with Russia at its headquarters in Brussels next Wednesday, shortly after the NATO summit in Warsaw. The two sides will discuss the Ukrainian crisis, the implementation of the Minsk agreement, their increasing military activities, measures to reduce risks of confrontation, and Afghanistan’s security.