NATO announced on Monday that it’s placing extra forces on standby and sending more warships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe as Russia continues its military build-up near Ukrainian territory. “I welcome Allies contributing additional forces to NATO,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on Monday. “NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to protect and defend all Allies, including by reinforcing the eastern part of the Alliance,” he added. “We will always respond to any deterioration of our security environment, including through strengthening our collective defense.” The defensive alliance has increased its troops’ presence in the region despite Moscow demanding during high-level talks in Brussels earlier this month that NATO can no longer carry out military exercises or intelligence operations, or build infrastructure outside its 1997 borders, and stops further military expansion and placing missiles on Russia’s borders. European countries that are part of the latest expansion are …