Germany will put its troops in NATO's quick reaction force on higher alert, enabling them to deploy more quickly to protect eastern European allies in case of an escalation of tensions with Russia, the defense ministry in Berlin said on Friday.

The move comes after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Wednesday that the NATO Response Force (NRF) had been put on higher readiness, calling the step defensive and not a threat to Russia.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian-backed separatists packed civilians onto buses out of breakaway regions on Friday, a shock turn in a conflict the West fears is part of a plan by Moscow to create a pretext for an attack on its neighbor.

Russia says it has no intention on invading Ukraine and accuses the West of irresponsible fear-mongering.

The German defense ministry said the decision to put its troops on higher alert was a reaction to Russia's conduct and meant to reduce the time needed to prepare for deployment in case of an activation of the NRF.

"The increased readiness to deploy enables NATO, in case of a further escalation by Russia, to guarantee appropriate reassurance in particular to our eastern European allies in order to protect allied territory," the ministry said in a statement.

The NRF comprises some 40,000 soldiers, provided on a rotational basis by the allies. With around 13,700 troops, Germany is contributing a large part of the force this year.

The alliance describes the NRF as "a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed."

In August 2021, the NRF was activated to support the evacuation from Kabul amid a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after the country fell to the Taliban.