Tag: NATO

Ukraine would have military reason for striking deeper into Russia – NATO committee chief

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Ukraine would have a good military reason to strike deeper into Russia using Western weapons, a senior NATO military official said on Saturday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday as Ukraine’s allies discuss whether to give a go-ahead for Kyiv to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia. President Vladimir Putin has said the West would be directly fighting Russia if it […]

Exclusive-U.S. researchers find probable launch site of Russia’s new nuclear-powered missile

By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as “invincible.” Putin has said the weapon – dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO – has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik’s strategic value, saying it will […]

Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is legitimate, says NATO’s Stoltenberg

BERLIN (Reuters) – Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is legitimate and covered by Kyiv’s right to self-defence, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told German weekly Welt am Sonntag in his first reaction to the advance into Russian territory. “Ukraine has a right to defend itself. And according to international law, this right does not stop at the border,” Stoltenberg told the paper, adding that NATO had not been informed about Ukraine’s plans beforehand and did […]

NATO begins sending F-16 jets in new support for Ukraine

By Shaun Tandon and Max Delany WASHINGTON, July 11, 2024 (AFP) – NATO allies on Wednesday announced they had started transferring F-16 jets to Ukraine while stepping up promises to Kyiv on eventual membership in the alliance, at a 75th anniversary summit clouded by political uncertainties in the United States. With the pomp of the three-day gathering in the US capital, President Joe Biden is aiming to rally the West and also reassure voters amid […]

NATO meets in Washington as questions swirl over Biden

By Max DELANY WASHINGTON, July 9, 2024 (AFP) – NATO leaders gather Tuesday in Washington for a summit aimed at showing resolve against Russia and support for Ukraine — but the meeting is set to be overshadowed by US President Joe Biden’s fight for political survival. The 81-year-old leader will try to use the three days of pomp marking NATO’s 75th anniversary to reassure allies over US leadership, and his own ability to govern, as […]

NATO urged to ensure Ukraine arms flow as 100-bn-euro fund floated

By Max DELANY BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 3, 2024 (AFP) – NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday debated the creation of a 100-billion-euro fund for Ukraine, as alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg urged them to guarantee long-term arms supplies for Kyiv’s outgunned forces. Stoltenberg pitched the five-year fund for Kyiv and a plan to deepen NATO’s involvement in delivering weapons in a bid to shield support in the face of a potential return by Donald Trump to the […]

From Cold War to the Ukraine war: NATO at 75

The NATO military alliance on Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of its founding treaty in Washington. Here are some facts and figures about the organisation forged in the Cold War and re-energised by Russia’s war on Ukraine. – 12 to 32 – Just 12 countries were founder members of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 as the United States, Canada and much of western Europe clubbed together to face up to the […]

NATO prepares for Russian threat in harsh Arctic

By Max DELANY BADDEREN , Norway, March 11, 2024 (AFP) – Finnish conscript Atte Ohman readied himself aboard a US landing ship to storm a snow-swept Norwegian beach as part of a rapid response unit pushing out an invading enemy. “There is a saying that ‘if you want to keep the peace, you need to prepare for war’,” the 19-year-old corporal told AFP, clutching his automatic rifle. “That’s what we’re doing.” The simulated assault on […]

Sweden joining NATO shows Putin ‘failed’: Stoltenberg

By Marc BURLEIGH and Olivier BAUBE BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 11, 2024 (AFP) – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Sweden’s accession to the US-led alliance showed Russian President Vladimir Putin had “failed” in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening it. The Kremlin’s invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO’s defence umbrella, but now “Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before,” Stoltenberg said. His comments, made […]

Sweden finally joins NATO, ending non-alignment, in Ukraine war shadow

By Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, March 8, 2024 (AFP) – Sweden on Thursday became the 32nd member of NATO, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment and capping two years of tortuous diplomacy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered new fears. Days after Hungary followed key holdout Turkey and became the last NATO member to sign off, Sweden ceremonially handed over accession documents to the United States, the leading force of the transatlantic alliance that […]

Putin warns West of nuclear war risk

MOSCOW, Feb 29, 2024 (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday of a “real” risk of nuclear war if the West escalates the conflict in Ukraine, offering a defiant and emboldened stance in his annual speech to Russians. Speaking in Moscow, Putin said his soldiers were advancing in Ukraine and warned the West of “tragic consequences” for any country that dared to send troops to Kyiv. “They have announced the possibility of sending Western military […]

What does NATO entry mean for Sweden?

By Johannes LEDEL Sweden’s NATO membership bid, submitted in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, cleared its final hurdle as Hungary’s parliament voted to ratify it on Monday. Accession to the US-led alliance means stark changes for both Sweden’s defence and the geopolitical balance in the region. – Why did Sweden decide to join NATO? – At the end of the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, Sweden adopted an official policy […]