Contents tagged with NATO

  • Merkel says it was the right decision not to to accept Ukraine into NATO in 2008

    Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected harsh criticism in her address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to admit Ukraine into NATO 14 years ago. "Retired Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel remains committed to her decisions related to the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest," a spokeswoman for the former head of government said on Monday, April 4, in response to a request from the news agency dpa.

    At the same time, the statement says that the ex-chancellor fully …

  • Kyiv: 13 countries call for urgent modernization of Ukraine’s air defense

    13 countries have signed a joint statement today stressing the urgent need to modernize Ukraine’s air defense, said the Chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk.

    "Today, our friends, parliamentarians of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, the United States signed a joint statement "On the need to modernize the air defense of Ukraine," he said.

    “The text of the …

  • Washington: U.S. and NATO are discussing how to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense

    The United States and other NATO countries are discussing how to strengthen Ukraine's air defense capabilities, said the Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO, Julianne Smith, at a briefing before a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

    Smith noted that, during Joe Biden’s presidency, the United States  has already provided Kyiv with military assistance worth $ 1.2 billion. Over the past few weeks alone, Ukraine has received $550 million in aid, primarily anti-tank weapons.

    "We …

  • Russian drone reportedly enters Polish airspace, shot down over Ukraine

    Ukraine’s military has said that a Russian surveillance drone crossed into Polish airspace before reentering Ukrainian airspace, where it was shot down by the Ukrainian military.

    The drone, believed to be a Forpost surveillance drone, was thought to be inspecting the damage caused by Sunday’s missile attack on the Yavoriv training center, which is near the Polish border.  The attack killed at least 35 and injured at least 134, according to Ukrainian authorities.

    Following the attack, NATO …

  • Ukraine to ask NATO for air defense systems to counter Russia's missile attacks

    Ukraine will ask NATO member states for air defense systems which are capable of countering Russian missile attacks. This will be discussed at the ministerial meeting of the Alliance, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

    Kuleba said that Ukraine was invited to take part in the NATO ministerial meeting, which will be devoted to the threats associated with Russian aggression. Kuleba will take part in it via a video link.

    Kuleba stressed that he would ask allies to provide Ukraine with …

  • Russia threatens to deploy hypersonic missiles to its borders

    The United States did not give a constructive response to the basic elements of the draft agreement on security guarantees. Because of this, Russia will be forced to take "military-technical measures", said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

    According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, almost all Moscow’s key demands, put forward in December, were ignored.

    The Kremlin’s letter said the US did not provide a response to their demands: "It's about giving up the further expansion of NATO, about the …

  • Lukashenko threatens to deploy ‘super-nuclear’ weapons in Belarus

    Belarus is ready to deploy in its territory not only nuclear, but also advanced "super-nuclear" weapons in the event of a threat from the country's adversaries, said Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko at the Osipovichi training ground while attending the Russian-Belarusian military exercises Allied Resolve–2022.

    "If necessary, if such stupid steps are taken by our opponents and adversaries, we will deploy not only nuclear weapons, but also super-nuclear, advanced ones, in order to …

  • Putin refuses to guarantee withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian border

    No one knows how Russia will continue to act on the border with Ukraine, said Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Kremlin.

    "How Russia will act further? According to the plan. And what will it consist of? It will be based on the real situation on the ground. Who can answer how this situation is going to develop? So far, no one," Putin said at a joint press conference with Scholz.

    "It depends not only on us," he said, answering the question …

  • Ukrainian Ambassador to UK: Ukraine may choose not to join NATO to avoid Russian invasion

    Ukraine may abandon its goal of joining NATO if it helps to avoid war with Russia, said Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, in an interview with BBC radio.

    "Especially under threat, we can be pushed to do this. We are flexible in finding the best way out. If we have to make any serious concessions, this is what we could do," Prystaiko said.

    The diplomat stressed that Kyiv has been pushed towards making such a decision for a long time, including by "voices from NATO." "The …

  • Kremlin refuses to accept NATO and EU response to Russia’s demands for security guarantees

    Russia cannot accept the response of the European Union and NATO to the letter sent by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about "security proposals". The Russian Foreign Ministry said that such "collective response" looks like a "coverup." In addition, Lavrov’s letter was not addressed to Stoltenberg and Borrell, said the press secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

    She recalled that Lavrov sent his letter to the foreign ministers of 37 countries- the United States, Canada and …