NATO strengthens in Eastern Europe but will not enter Ukraine

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) activated its defense plans to reinforce itself in Eastern Europe in the face of the “serious threat” to Euro-Atlantic security posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but made it clear that it does not plan to send troops to that country, a partner but not a member of the Alliance.

“We do not have NATO troops in Ukraine and we have no plan to send them to Ukraine,” the organization’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said at a press conference, adding that they nevertheless have to “give guarantees to the allies of NATO, increasing our presence” in the eastern part of the Alliance.

Stoltenberg appeared before the media at the end of an urgently called meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s highest decision-making body, on which occasion he also announced the call for an extraordinary summit by videoconference of the leaders for tomorrow, Friday allies to address Russia’s “deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned invasion” of Ukraine.

Up to eight allied ambassadors, from Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Poland, had requested consultations invoking article 4 of the Washington Treaty, a document that established NATO and that activates these talks when they consider the integrity of territorial, political independence or security of any of its members.

More troops in the east

The North Atlantic Council, which in a statement warned that the invasion of Ukraine will have “geostrategic consequences” and for which it assured that Russia must “assume full responsibility”, decided today to activate the defense plans of the organization at the request of the NATO’s top military commander, General Tod Wolters.

“This is a prudent and defensive step to protect and shield partner nations during this crisis. And it will allow us to deploy capabilities and forces, including the NATO Response Force -of about 40,000 troops-, where they are needed”, explained Stoltenberg, who recalled that the Alliance has already been strengthening its collective defense while Russia continued to accumulate troops around Ukraine.

Thus, in recent weeks, the allies have deployed thousands more troops in the eastern part of the Alliance, and he gave an example that there are more than 100 fighters on “high alert” to protect airspace and more than 120 allied ships from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean.

“All this shows that our commitment to collective defense of Article 5 is strong. And we will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect the Alliance from aggression,” he stated.

In this context, the allied secretary general stressed that “there is no room for miscalculation” and that “an attack on one would be seen as an attack on all” the allies.

“Since Russia knows that an attack on one would provoke an attack on all, it will not attack, because we are the strongest Alliance,” the secretary general ventured.

He recalled that they have been warning of the possibility of the invasion for some time and that, at the same time, they have been preparing for such a scenario by placing more forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, where more will arrive in the coming days, he said.

“What we do is proportionate and defensive, we are not looking for a conflict,” Stoltenbergo assured, while lamenting that “Russia has closed the door to a political solution.”

In any case, he again asked Moscow to “immediately cease its military action, withdraw its forces from Ukraine and choose diplomacy.”

Broken peace in Europe

“Russia has attacked Ukraine. This is a brutal act of war. Our thoughts are with the brave people of Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said, lamenting that what they had been warning about for months “has happened” despite “all the calls for Russia to change course and the tireless efforts to find a diplomatic solution. ”.

“Peace on our continent has been shattered. Now we have a war in Europe, on a scale and of a kind that we thought belonged in history,” he asserted.

To illustrate unity in Europe, the presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council, Charles Michel, joined Stoltenberg at a later press conference.

“We are more united and more determined than ever. We are a Union, an Alliance, united in purpose”, stressed Von der Leyen, who took advantage of his appearance to announce more sanctions on Russia for its aggression, which will “suppress” its economic growth, he said, just a few hours before the summit scheduled for today from the leaders of the European Union.