NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance was deploying its rapid response force for the first time ever to bolster defences in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"It is still a fluid situation. What we have seen is that the Ukrainian forces are fighting bravely and are actually able to inflict damage on the invading Russian forces," Stoltenberg said after a video summit of NATO leaders.

"It is a full invasion of Ukraine. They are moving towards Kyiv and the stated goal is to change the government of Ukraine."

Stoltenberg's warned that the Kremlin's aggression had created a "new normal", threatening Europe's broader security beyond non-NATO member Ukraine.

"We have already strengthened our deterrence and defence," Stoltenberg said.

"Yesterday, allies activated our defence plans and, as a result, we are deploying elements of the NATO Response Force (NRF) on land, at sea, and in the air to further strengthen our posture and to respond quickly to any contingency."

The step is the latest by NATO aimed at beefing up its defences after allies spearheaded by the United States rushed thousands of troops to eastern members as the Kremlin moved on Ukraine.

"We have over 100 jets at high alert, operating in over 30 different locations and over 120 ships from the high north to the Mediterranean," Stoltenberg said.

"This is to preserve peace to prevent an attack and to prevent that the war which is going on in Ukraine spills over to any NATO allied country."

He did not give any details on where the response forces were being sent, saying it was up to NATO's top military commander.

Created in 2003, the NRF is made up of 40,000 personnel and includes an 8,000-strong high-readiness contingent with air, sea and special operations soldiers that can be deployed within days.

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States had troops currently in Europe, plus 7,000 ordered to deploy to German this week, and others on standby at home.

He said which troops and how many depend on the specific needs of NATO.

"Whatever those requirements are... the United States is ready to lean forward as much as possible," Kirby said.

He stressed the NRF was to protect NATO countries, not to engage in fighting in Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance.

However, he said, the trigger for activating the NRF "has been this unlawful invasion by Russia into Ukraine."

"We're going to do what we need to do to defend every inch of NATO territory." he added.

Russia attack conjures up fears of new Europe 'iron curtain'
Paris (AFP) Feb 25, 2022 - Russia's attack on Ukraine could herald a Cold War revival in Europe with two blocs armed to the teeth pointing nuclear weapons at each other across an iron curtain, politicians and experts say.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement that Moscow's assault on his country was "the sound of a new iron curtain lowering" has resonated in Western halls of power where many had assumed that Europe's post-war division into hostile camps led by the US and Russia was consigned to the history books.

From Hitler's defeat in 1945 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Europe was divided into two camps with the dividing line running through Germany.

The so-called iron curtain, a term coined by British wartime leader Winston Churchill, separated the western liberal, capitalist democracies from the communist countries in the east, each part of zones of influence that were mostly accepted by the other side.

- 'Shift borders' -

But after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many of Moscow's former satellites turned to the West, joining NATO and the European Union if they could -- like Poland and Romania -- or at least liberalising their economies and political systems, like Ukraine.

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist east Germany, warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a quest to roll back that trend and re-establish Moscow's sphere of influence.

"Russia's war of aggression marks a profound turning point in European history after the end of the Cold War," Merkel said Friday.

Her successor, Olaf Scholz, echoed such concerns when he called the invasion of Ukraine "an attempt to forcibly shift borders within Europe".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Putin point-blank of wanting to "reconstitute the Soviet empire" or at least "reassert a sphere of influence".

French President Emmanuel Macron also seemed to be looking at the Russian offensive's long-term impact when he described the war as a "turning point in the history of Europe and our country" with "deep and lasting consequences for our lives".

Russia taking "Ukraine off the map of nations", as French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian fears it will, would dramatically lengthen the border NATO countries share with Russia, with a big rise in potential flashpoints -- and fewer buffers.

Already the United States and other NATO members are sending reinforcements to the alliance's frontline.

Once Washington stations the promised 7,000 extra soldiers, the US will have 90,000 troops in total deployed in Europe.

Among European nations promising more efforts, France has said it would accelerate its troop deployment in Romania, while Italy is to send 3,400 soldiers to its most exposed NATO allies.

- 'All kinds of repercussions' -

Western experts have little doubt that victory in Ukraine would see Putin tighten his grip not just on Kyiv, but also on neighbouring Belarus, which has already served as a launch pad for Russia's attack.

"The war in Ukraine will have all kinds of repercussions on the line that runs from Baltic to the Black Sea," said Jean-Sylvestre Mongrenier at the Thomas More institute think tank.

Belarus would "become a satellite again", he told AFP, and Russian pressure would grow on the Baltic countries and Poland.

Scholz called on Germany's allies to prevent the conflict from spilling over into other countries "with everything at our disposal" and warned Putin not to underestimate NATO's determination to defend its members.

France meanwhile expressed concerns that Russian tanks may also roll into Moldova and Georgia, two other former Soviet republics where separatists declared unrecognised statelets.

As tensions rise, the nuclear arms threat -- a key ingredient of post-war Europe's Cold War order -- is also making a return.

Le Drian has reminded Putin that "the Atlantic alliance is also a nuclear alliance", while the Russian leader threatened retaliation "like you have never seen in history" for anyone interfering with the war in Ukraine -- which many understand to mean nuclear reprisal.

Both Russia and the US have thousands of nuclear warheads at their disposal, with France and Britain adding to the West's atomic capabilities.

Ukraine, which emerged from the Cold War with sizeable Soviet-era nuclear weapons stocks of its own, gave up its arsenal in the 1990s.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

NATO activating 'defence plans' for allies as Russia invades Ukraine
Brussels (AFP) Feb 24, 2022
NATO is activating its "defence plans" for allied countries as Russia attacks non-NATO member Ukraine, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told a media conference on Thursday. Stoltenberg also confirmed that NATO will hold a video summit on Friday to discuss the Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour. And he reiterated that NATO had no "plans" to send alliance troops to Ukraine. It is the first time the alliance has publicly said it is activating its defence plans, which were drawn up aft ... read more