NATO’s top commander has warned Europe to beef up its air defenses over the Baltics in anticipation of a Russian invasion. Tensions between NATO and Moscow has gradually worsened since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014. Currently there are just eight jets patrolling the skies over the Baltics and NATO commanders think that the numbers are not sufficient to deter a Russian attack in Europe. The alliance is asking its European allies to prepare as a deterrence against a possible conflict, even though the preparation itself might be construed as an aggressive posture by the Russians, looking at it from the other side of the fence, that could lead to war. The Daily Express reports: NATO is planning its biggest build-up in eastern Europe since the Cold War to counter what the alliance consider to be a more aggressive Russia. That could include a permanent presence of battalion-sized deployments of allied troops across Eastern Europe. At a press conference in Lithuania, the country’s chief of defence Jonas Zukas said: “We no longer want multi-national forces to be present only as a measure of assurance or for political visibility. “We want forces of deterrence, with [...]