Because of the Russian attack on Ukraine, NATO is stepping up protection for its eastern members. After an emergency meeting of the 30 NATO ambassadors in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that the defense plans had been activated at the request of the military leadership. In an emergency, the NATO Response Force (NRF) with up to 40,000 soldiers could be deployed to protect the Allies.
The NATO military leadership under US General Tod Wolters can now request additional troops and other units. The defense plans were drawn up after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and have never been publicly activated. Eastern member states in particular, such as Poland, Romania or the Baltic States, fear that they will become targets of Russian expansion plans after the Ukraine.
On Friday, the heads of state and government of the alliance will discuss the situation at a virtual crisis summit, as Stoltenberg confirmed. The Secretary-General ruled out sending alliance troops to Ukraine: “We have no NATO troops in Ukraine and we have no plans to send NATO troops to Ukraine either,” emphasized the Norwegian.
Scholz: “We will stand by your side”
NATO leaders will hold a special session Friday afternoon on Russia’s war against Ukraine. The deliberations should take place via video conference.
After consultation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) proposed “that the heads of state and government of the NATO countries meet very soon to discuss the situation,” as Scholz said in Berlin. Macron’s office said the summit should be convened “as soon as possible”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had also called for a NATO summit.
