LAST UPDATE: 14.03
NATO announced on Thursday that it would take new deterrent and defensive measures after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as more than 100 warplanes are on high alert and the alliance will further increase its presence on its eastern side, according to the report. Reuters agency.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that a special digital summit of the alliance’s 30 members will be held on Friday, attended by the leaders of Sweden, Finland and the institutions of the European Union.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday, confirming the West’s worst fears with one state’s largest offensive against another in Europe since World War II.
“Peace on our continent has been shaken,” Stoltenberg told a news conference. “Russia is using force to try to rewrite history and deny Ukraine its free and independent course.”
Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, and Stoltenberg said there were no NATO troops in the country.
“We do not plan to send NATO troops to Ukraine. What we are doing is defensive,” he said.
The new measures planned by NATO will allow it to deploy forces, including the NATO Response Force, in Eastern European countries.
NATO plans to set up battle force structures, as it already has in the Baltic states, for countries on its eastern side, said Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korkok, adding that the move would include Slovakia.
“The unit will consist of countries that are geographically close to us. It will be a few hundred soldiers, who will come with equipment we do not have and which will significantly increase our ability to defend our country,” said the Minister of Defense. Slovakia’s Jaroslav Nant.
NATO said in a statement earlier that it had decided “to take additional measures to further strengthen deterrence and defense throughout the alliance”, but that its measures were “precautionary, proportionate and non-escalating”.
“This is a deliberate, cold and long-planned invasion,” Stoltenberg said. “Russia’s unwarranted, unprovoked attack on Ukraine is endangering countless innocent lives with air and missile strikes.”
“We must respond with determination and even stronger unity,” Stoltenberg said.
Source: Capital
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