Nato has announced it is deploying "defensive land and air forces" to its eastern members in Europe in a move to defend them and deter Russia from any further advance following the invasion of non-member Ukraine.
It came after an appeal by member states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, who warned that Russia's actions posed a risk to their security and called for a joint response from the 30-member alliance.
"Sadly, what we have warned against for months has come to pass. Despite all calls on Russia to change course and tireless efforts to seek a diplomatic solution, peace on our continent has been shattered," said Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.
He described Russia’s advance as an unprovoked act of aggression and a “deliberate, cold-blooded, and long-planned invasion” that posed “serious threats” to Euro-Atlantic security.
“There must be no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding. An attack on one will be regarded as an attack on all. This is our collective security guarantee,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
“We will defend and protect every ally against any attack and every inch of Nato territory. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to shield the alliance from aggression.”
Nevertheless, the alliance has confirmed that none of its troops are present in Ukraine and that there are no plans to militarily join the country in its self-defence against the invading Russian army.
“We don’t have Nato troops in Ukraine, and we don’t have any plans to send Nato troops into Ukraine,” Mr Stoltenberg told journalists.
Hesitancy
Ukraine repeatedly pressed for membership of the defensive alliance in recent years, but there was hesitancy among its members about whether this would increase the likelihood of a conflict between Nato and Russia and effectively the outbreak of a third world war.
The activation of the defence plan involves sending the Nato Response Force to secure members that are geographically close to Russia, adding to the deployment of additional land, sea and air forces to the region in recent weeks.
This constitutes an adjustment to the “new reality” of conflict in Europe, Mr Stoltenberg said. In a statement, the alliance said the measures were “preventive, proportionate and non-escalatory”.
Nato leaders are to meet virtually on Friday for further talks. Sweden and Finland, which are not Nato members but whose national debate about joining has been revived by the crisis, will also take part.
It comes after the Baltic states and Poland evoked the alliance's article four, which has been used six times since 1949 and allows members to trigger talks when they feel their security is threatened. They are among the European Union member states that border Russia and were once ruled by Moscow, and have been alarmed by the talk by Russian president Vladimir Putin indicating he wants to reacquire territories to which he believes his country has a historical claim.
"Russia's widespread aggression is a threat to the entire world and to all Nato countries," Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas said in a statement, adding that her small but tightly-defended nation of 1.3 million people on Russia's border had "prepared for this crisis".
