As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine escalates, NATO countries have declared that they will send more troops to eastern Europe.
“No one should be fooled by the Russian government’s barrage of lies,” the 30 NATO leaders stated in a joint statement.
It comes after the allied countries alleged Moscow had lied about its intentions at a virtual conference headed by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
The statement read: “We are now making significant additional defensive deployments of forces to the eastern part of the alliance.”
NATO’s quick response force, which consists of land, air, marine, and special operations forces, is being deployed on allied territory, according to Stoltenberg.
Some of NATO’s 30 allies have also announced the types of weaponry they will send Ukraine, according to Stoltenberg, without providing specifics.
“Allies are very committed to continue to provide support. We are now deploying the NATO response force for the first time in the context of collective defence,” he said.
“There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding. We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally, and every inch of NATO territory.”
Stoltenberg further blamed Russia for attempting to destabilize Ukraine’s administration.
“We see rhetoric, the messages, which is strongly indicating that the aim is to remove the democratically elected government in Kyiv,” he told a news conference following a virtual meeting of NATO leaders.
The NATO Response Force can have up to 40,000 troops, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated the alliance will not deploy the entire force. Parts of a spearhead unit, known as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force in NATO parlance and now led by France, will be sent as well.
“We will continue to take all measures and decisions required to ensure the security and defense of all allies,” the leaders said in a statement. “We will make all deployments necessary to ensure strong and credible deterrence and defense across the alliance, now and in the future.”
Some of NATO’s 30 member countries are supplying Ukraine with weapons, ammunition, and other equipment, but NATO as one alliance is not. It will not launch a war in support of Ukraine, which is a close ally but has no clear route to membership.
To add insult to injury, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that discussions could only take place if the Ukrainian Army “lays down its arms”, a demand that the Ukrainian government finds too difficult to meet.
Thousands of Ukrainians crossed into western neighboring countries on Friday in search of safety from the country’s ongoing conflict.
Men of military age were prohibited from leaving the country, therefore women, children, and the elderly made up the majority of those who crossed the border.
Image Credit: Getty
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