NATO leaders convened in Brussels on Thursday to discuss overhauling the military alliance’s eastern defenses, a month after Russia started its special operation in Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden arrived in Belgium as NATO’s 30 national leaders were expected to discuss new sanctions and how to coordinate such measures, along with more military aid for Ukraine.
NATO leaders are likely to agree to send equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
They’re also set to endorse a move to set up four new multinational battlegroups in Eastern Europe to deter Russia from attacking any NATO members.
However, the alliance has rebuffed pleas from Kiev to impose a no-fly zone to help halt Russia’s operation for fear of getting dragged into a “full-fledged” conflict with Moscow.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a “big mistake” by launching the invasion.
“President Putin has made a big mistake and that is to launch a war against an independent sovereign nation. He has underestimated the strength of the Ukrainian people, the bravery of the Ukrainian people and their armed forces,” he said ahead of the start of a summit in Brussels.
Stoltenberg said the leaders of the US-led alliance would “address the need for a reset of our deterrence and defense in the longer term,” starting with agreeing on new deployments to eastern members Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
He also said any chemical attack by Russia on Ukraine would change the course of the war, but did not specify whether NATO would take military action.
Asked whether a chemical weapons attack is a red line for NATO, Stoltenberg said, “I will not speculate beyond the fact that NATO is always ready to defend, to protect and to react to any type of attack on a NATO-allied country.”
Stoltenberg said “any use of chemical weapons would fundamentally change the nature of the conflict. It would be a blatant violation of international law, and it will have widespread and severe consequences.”
The meeting of NATO leaders is set to be addressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he would ask the alliance to provide “effective and unrestricted” support to Ukraine — including any weapons the country needs — so it can keep up the pressure on Russia.
Source: Agencies
