Canada is boosting its role in NATO deterrence efforts in Latvia amid a major shift by the alliance to a more assertive defensive posture in the wake of Russian atrocities in Ukrainian cities of Bucha and Mariupol.
NATO
Finland must apply to join Nato without delay, say president and PM
Finland must apply to join Nato without delay in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, its president and prime minister have said, confirming a historic change in the Nordic country’s security policy after decades of military non-alignment.
Sauli Niinistö and Sanna Marin made the call in a joint statement, adding: “We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.”
Nato membership would strengthen Finland’s security, the two leaders said, and as a member of Nato: “Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance. Finland must apply for Nato membership as a matter of urgency.”
Update – Finland Nato: Russia threatens to retaliate over membership move
Russia has said it will be forced to take “retaliatory steps” over its neighbour Finland’s move to join Nato.
A foreign ministry statement said the move would seriously damage bilateral relations, as well as security and stability in northern Europe.
Earlier, Finland’s president and PM called for the country to apply for Nato membership “without delay”.
Will NATO Fight?
Great Britain is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s public enemy number one. In March the Kremlin branded UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson the most active anti-Russian leader. A few days ago on television, Putin’s propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov fancifully suggested Russia should drown Britain in a radioactive tsunami created by Poseidon nuclear torpedos that would leave survivors in “a radioactive desert, unfit for anything for a very long time”.
Putin is upset about Britain’s stance over Ukraine, leading Europe and much of the world in aggressive sanctions against Russia; and pouring in financial and military aid plus decisive secret intelligence to help keep Kiev in the fight.
Sweden Would Strengthen the NATO Alliance
The Swedes need little proof of Russia’s disregard for the sovereignty of nation states.
Several Russian fighter aircraft were intercepted near NATO airspace over the Baltic and Black Seas several times in late April by alliance Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) warplanes. On April 29, a Russian spy plane also violated Sweden’s sovereign airspace. NATO fighter interceptors from Denmark, Poland, Spain, and France responded to the Russian challenge over Baltic Sea airspace. Romanian and British fighters intercepted Russian aircraft over the Black Sea.
NATO already has a Muslim member state in Turkey.
Communist China says Nato has ‘messed up Europe’ and warns over role in Asia-Pacific
China’s ministry of foreign affairs has accused Nato of messing up Europe and stirring up conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region, after the UK’s foreign secretary told China it should “play by the rules”.
In a speech at Mansion House in London on Wednesday, Liz Truss renewed calls to boost Nato in the wake of the Ukraine war, and said the coordinated moves to isolate Russia from the world economy proved that market access to democratic countries was no longer a given. Truss also delivered a direct warning to China.
“Countries must play by the rules. And that includes China,” she said.
NATO will deploy a permanent full-scale military force on its border with Russia to combat a future invasion, alliance’s chief says
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the newspaper that the alliance was “in the midst of a very fundamental transformation” that will reflect “the long-term consequences” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions.
“What we see now is a new reality, a new normal for European security,” Stoltenberg said, per The Telegraph. “Therefore, we have now asked our military commanders to provide options for what we call a reset, a longer-term adaptation of NATO.”
Sergey Karaganov: “We Are At War With The West. The European Security Order Is Illegitimate”
“For 25 years people like myself have said that NATO expansion would lead to war. Putin said several times that if it came to Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, there would be no Ukraine anymore. In Bucharest in 2008 there was a plan of quick accession of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO. It was blocked by the efforts of Germany and France, but since that time Ukraine has been integrated into NATO. It was pumped up by weaponry and its troops were trained by NATO, their army getting stronger and stronger day by day. In addition we saw a very rapid increase of neo-Nazi sentiment especially among the military, the society and the ruling elite. It was clear that Ukraine had become something like Germany around 1936-1937. The war was inevitable, they were a spearhead of NATO. We made the very hard decision to strike first, before the threat becomes deadlier.”
The incoherence at the heart of NATO
It spent years stoking a conflict with Russia it had no intention of fighting.
Some seem to believe that the war in Ukraine has galvanised Western alliances. In particular, they argue that Russia’s act of aggression has given that hoary old Cold War institution, NATO, a renewed sense of purpose, reversing decades of drift and division. As US president Joe Biden declared after last week’s NATO summit, ‘Putin was banking on NATO being split – NATO has never, never been more united than it is today’.
That was certainly the impression NATO leaders wanted to give (footage of Boris Johnson looking lost and alone aside). Unity. Commitment. Purpose. NATO leaders talked of imposing ‘unprecedented costs on Russia’. They pledged to pour more weapons – and upgraded ones to boot – into Ukraine. And Biden himself seemed to be on a one-man escalation mission, threatening both regime change in Moscow and to respond ‘in kind’ to any Russian chemical-weapon use.
Joe Biden Repeats Charlottesville ‘Very Fine People Hoax’ at NATO Summit
President Joe Biden repeated the infamous “very fine people hoax” on Thursday evening in Brussels, Belgium, falsely claiming that his predecessor praised neo-Nazis who rioted in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
Russia May Not Stop With Ukraine – NATO Looks To Its Weakest Link
It looks a lot like a return to the past. Founded in 1949 to defend against the Soviet threat, the NATO alliance is facing a return to mechanised warfare, a huge increase in defence spending, and potentially a new Iron Curtain falling across Europe. After struggling to find a new post-Cold War role, countering terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 and a humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, NATO is back defending against its original nemesis.
NATO head urges Canada, other allies to do more on defence commitments
Canada has not spent more than 2% of its GDP on defence in decades
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he appreciates Canada’s commitments so far, but expects all allies “to do more” and follow up on pledges to spend at least two per cent of gross domestic product on defence.
Stoltenberg stopped short of explicitly asking for Canada to hit that mark in its upcoming federal budget, referring instead to previous NATO agreements dating back to 2014 that commit allies to increase spending and focus on a GDP target of two per cent.
Nearly three-quarters of Canadians say NATO should prepare to intervene in Ukraine: poll
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has signalled its solidarity with Ukraine in the form of supplies, weapons and sanctions since the early days of Russia’s latest incursion into its territory, but has not deployed troops for combat.
“This is the first time where people say, ‘Give diplomacy and sanctions a chance but brace for potentially this becoming military involvement,”’ said Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque.
Joe Biden Threatens ‘World War III’ if Vladimir Putin Attacks NATO
The president spoke about the conflict at a House Democrat retreat in Philadelphia, vowing again to defend “every inch” of NATO territory from Putin and the Russians.
“Granted, if we respond, it is World War III, but we have a sacred obligation,” he said to his fellow Democrats.
Canada’s perennial status as a NATO freeloader is getting awkward
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued his tour of Europe to “work closely with allies to strengthen NATO.” But even as Canada places 500 troops in Latvia and pledges CF-18s for Romania, there is an elephant in the room whenever Trudeau talks to NATO members about collective security: He happens to represent a country that has spent more than a generation phoning in its NATO commitments.
Russia Should Worry: The US Military Has Activated Its Strategic Materiel Stockpile
For the past weeks, the 405th Army Field Support Brigade has been preparing for the incoming troops by activating the Army Prepositioned Stock-2 sites, which are capable of outfitting an entire armored brigade combat team.
The strategic reserves at the Army Prepositioned Stock-2 sites include hundreds of M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, Paladin M109A6 self-propelled howitzers, supply trucks, and other vehicles.
Blinken: NATO Countries Have ‘Green Light’ to Send Fighter Jets to Ukraine
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that the United States has given the “green light” to NATO countries who have wanted to provide fighter jets to Ukraine.
Russia has warned countries offering airfields to Ukraine would be entering the ongoing conflict.
The very entity that Putin is fighting against. It’s WW3, intentionally.