US Army General Christopher Cavoli is NATO's new supreme allied commander in Europe after assuming command from his countryman General Tod Wolters on Monday in a ceremony in Mons, Belgium.  Cavoli takes up the top alliance role amid "the return of brutal conflict to Europe," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in his ceremony speech.

The handover comes after the alliance agreed last week on a major reinforcement of Eastern European members during a NATO leaders' summit in Madrid, against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.