Russia's invasion of Ukraine "the most serious security crisis we have faced in Europe for decades," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
And that's the reason why we take it so extremely seriously," Stoltenberg said. "This is something that all allies have agreed to do." He also said that NATO countries would be providing additional weapons and air-defense systems to Ukraine at the request of its government. Why it matters: Stoltenberg has called Russia's invasion of Ukraine "the most serious security crisis we have faced in Europe for decades." - He added that eastern-flank allies "are extremely concerned. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Friday that the alliance has activated elements of the 40,000-troop NATO Response Force (NRF) for the first time, warning at a press conference: "The Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine."
Troops would join 7000 American service members already unilaterally deployed to Europe as Russia attacks Ukraine.
The activation by President Joe Biden and leaders of member states marks the first such use of the NATO Response Force to guard alliance territory.
Soldiers of an airborne brigade of the US Army are seen at the Adazi Military Base of the Latvian armed forces in Adazi,. (CNN) For ...
"We have to take this seriously, and that's exactly why we are now deploying the NATO response force for the first time in a collective defense context," he said. The decision to activate the response force was announced following a call Friday morning with NATO leaders. US President Joe Biden has been clear that US troops are deploying to eastern Europe to help bolster NATO countries nervous about Russia's aggressive actions, and they will not be fighting in Ukraine.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO's secretary general announced activation of the alliance's defense plans, which also means that it can ...
The activation serves as a notice to NATO nations that they may be called upon to provide military support to the NATO mission, Kirby said. "We stand ready if called upon by NATO to support the NRF in the defense of the alliance, and will absolutely do that." And we're very actively engaged in those efforts, to help them better defend themselves through both lethal and non-lethal assistance." "This is the first time that the alliance has employed these high readiness forces in a deterrence and defense role. Still, Kirby said, the U.S. has put as many as 12,000 service members on "prepare to deploy orders" so they will be ready if called upon to participate in the NATO Response Force. Some of those U.S. personnel may also be called upon to participate in any unilateral actions the U.S. may undertake. So it's not an insignificant move by the alliance."
NATO, for the first time in its history, is activating its NATO Response Force (NRF) in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
โThey represent a flexible, combat credible force that can be employed in multiple ways and we are utilizing fully their inherent agility,โ Wolters said. All 30 members of NATO must agree to activate the force, which they did on Thursday. In addition, NATO has โdeployed defensive land and air forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, and maritime assets across the NATO area,โ according to its statement.