(FiveNation.com)- With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalating, NATO nations have not only denounced the actions by Russia but also have said they will deploy more forces into Eastern Europe as well as assets at sea so that they are at an increased level of readiness should they be needed.
In a statement, NATO said that the attack initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin against Ukraine is a “grave breach of international law.” At the same time, it poses a serious threat to the security of Europe as a whole.
At a press conference held on Thursday, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, said:
“Peace on our continent has been shattered. We now have war in Europe on a scale and of a type we thought belonged to history.”
Member nations of NATO were set to hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the ongoing situation. That meeting, according to Stoltenberg, will also include some representatives from Sweden and Finland, who are considered partners of NATO.
As Stoltenberg said in a press statement released last week:
“Once again, despite our repeated warnings and tireless efforts to engage in diplomacy, Russia has chosen the path of aggression against a sovereign and independent country.”
NATO then called on Russia to “immediately cease its military action and withdraw all its forces from in and around Ukraine, to fully respect international humanitarian law, and to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access and assistance to all persons in need.”
That doesn’t seem likely to happen at this point, though, as Putin is apparently determined to take this as far as he feels it needs to go to get what he wants. After initially saying it wasn’t an invasion but a “peacekeeping mission,” Putin has now sent Russian troops far into the country of Ukraine, rather than just into western territories he declared independent states.
NATO considers the actions by the Kremlin to be a “serious threat” to the rest of Europe, which is why they said they intend to “take all necessary measures to ensure the security and defense of all Allies.”
Included in that apparently is the deployment of “additional defensive land and air forces to the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as additional maritime assets.”
Ukraine is not member of NATO, but many of the countries that border it and are close to it are. That includes Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Hungary.
Even larger countries that are more separated physically such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are concerned that the fighting could eventually spill over into their countries or, at the very least, threaten their economic health.
That’s why many leaders in those countries have condemned Putin’s actions separately, while at the same time pledging their support through NATO.
For now, nothing that any country or NATO has done has deterred Putin from plowing ahead with his plan, though there is still hope that he’ll back off in the near future.
