NATO is due to tell its leaders on Wednesday that they must come up with new plans to deter Russia after it invaded Ukraine, including deploying more troops and missile defenses in eastern Europe, officials and diplomats said.
While 10 major NATO countries, including the United States, Britain and France, have deployed more troops, warships and fighters to the eastern flank and put more on standby, the alliance must consider how to address the new security situation in Europe in the medium term.
NATO defense ministers are due to request those plans at a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, just over a week before a summit of NATO presidents and leaders in Brussels on March 24 in the presence of US President Joe Biden.
"We need to reconsider our military posture based on the new reality," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. "Ministers will begin important discussions on concrete measures to enhance our security in the longer term and at all levels".
The ministers are also due to hear their Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov, who is expected to appeal to them for more weapons from the alliance, at a time when Russia's assault on Ukrainian cities continues and the Russian army seeks to seize Kyiv.
"We must continue to show our practical support for Ukraine," British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said as he arrived for a NATO meeting.
Diplomats say that NATO wants to avoid disclosing its plans or what might trigger Article 5 of the collective defense pledge, adding that "strategic ambiguity" is also a defensive tool in the face of any Russian aggression.
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- Agencies