Germany will lead the 11,500-strong NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, which is part of the alliance's High Readiness Force, effective Jan. 1, the NATO Press Service said Wednesday.

"On Sunday (1 January 2023), Germany takes the lead of NATO's highest-readiness military force, placing thousands of troops on standby and ready to deploy within days," the statement said.

NATO headquarters recalled that the high readiness grouping was created as part of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force in 2014 in response to the reunification of Crimea with Russia and the start of hostilities in eastern Ukraine. In response to the Russian military operation in Ukraine, NATO "NATO deployed elements of the VJTF to Romania on the unit's first ever collective-defence mission."

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said the move signaled the alliance's intention to "protect and defend every inch of Allied territory."

The NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force is formed on a rotational basis from units of NATO member states that have been designated for this purpose for one year. In 2023, the 37th German Tank and Grenadier Brigade will form the core of this force. In addition to Germany, eight alliance nations are contributing troops to this group: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Slovenia.