US to boost military presence in East Europe

Warsaw: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled a $1 billion security plan for eastern Europe aimed at allaying fears over a resurgent Kremlin and the escalating pro-Russian uprising in ex-Soviet Ukraine.

Mr Obama launched a major tour of Europe by attending the 25th anniversary celebration of the first free elections in Poland a seminal event that propelled eastern Europe out of Moscow’s orbit and toward democracy and free-market growth.

But the ceremony has been haunted by those very countries' fears of the Kremlin  riding a patriotic wave following its seizure of Crimea reasserting its Cold War  grip on eastern Euro-pean satellites.