Russia-Ukraine crisis: NATO Response Force activated for first time
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has decided to deploy the NATO Response Force to thwart Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced in a press conference on Friday
“What we see now is a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine,” Mr Stoltenberg said in a press conference on Friday, warning that Russian forces are moving towards Kyiv.
“We are deploying elements of the NATO Response Force…to further strengthen our posture and to respond quickly to any contingency,” he added.
It is the first time that the NATO Response Force (NRF), made up of 40,000 troops, has been activated for collective defence. The personnel will be deployed to the eastern flank of the alliance, according to Mr Stoltenberg.
However, its troops will not go into Ukraine, which is not a member of the organisation.
United States President Joe Biden had clarified that U.S. troops had been deployed to eastern Europe to help strengthen NATO countries anxious about Russia’s hostile actions, and they will not be fighting in Ukraine.
In a full statement on its website, NATO urged Russia to cease its military assault and withdraw all its forces from Ukraine. It described the invasion of Ukraine as “brutal and wholly unprovoked and unjustified.”
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