NATO commander in Ukraine as fighting rumbles on

NATO's top military commander said he was "very concerned" that Russia's military build-up in the annexed Crimean region could be used as a launchpad for attacks across the whole Black Sea region.

US General Philip Breedlove's comments come amid fears in Kiev that Russian-backed rebels will try to grab more land in eastern Ukraine to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.

"We are very concerned with the militarisation of Crimea," Breedlove said following meetings with Ukraine's top political and military leaders in Kiev.

"The capabilities that are being installed in Crimea ... are able to exert influence over the entire Black Sea," he said, highlighting the influx of cruise missiles and surface-to-air rockets.

Russia's defence ministry said Wednesday that it had deployed a batch of 14 military jets to Crimea as part of a squadron of 30 that will be stationed on the peninsula.

Breedlove also repeated accusations that Russian troops were inside east Ukraine "training, equipping, giving backbone" to rebel forces, as Ukraine's military said several more columns of military hardware and troops were spotted crossing over the border from Russia on Tuesday.

Moscow fiercely rejects any claims that it is involved in the fighting in east Ukraine but gives open political backing to the rebels, who now boast the heavy weaponry of a regular army.

Meanwhile, deadly clashes between government forces and the separatists rumbled on, with Ukraine's military saying two soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours.

Ukraine's new government this week stated its desire to move towards NATO membership, triggering further ire from Russia which strongly opposes the expansion of Western institutions in what it considers its backyard.

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NATO commander in Ukraine as fighting rumbles on

German Chancellor Angela Merkels government is alarmed by President Petro Poroshenkos plan to hold a referendum on Ukraine joining NATO, seeing it as a dead end that would only inflame tensions with Russia.

Ukrainian membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is not on the table for Merkel, according to one German official, who said that a referendum wouldnt bring Ukraine closer to NATO since decisions on membership are made by Alliance countries and not voters. Any bid to join NATO can only end badly, a second official said. Both asked not to be named discussing German government strategy.

Its a stance that Merkel and Vladimir Putin can agree on, even as she vents frustration at her inability to sway the Russian president to resolve the crisis.

NATO membership for Ukraine isnt on the agenda at this point, Michael Grosse-Broemer, the parliamentary whip for Merkels Christian Democratic bloc, said in an interview in Berlin yesterday.

German resistance to Ukraines membership in the 28-nation military alliance, echoed by France, is a warning to Poroshenko not to aggravate the conflict with pro-Kremlin separatists that has claimed more than 4,300 lives in almost eight months.

Michael Grosse-Broemer, parliamentary whip for Merkels Christian Democratic bloc, said, NATO membership for Ukraine isnt on the agenda at this point, Close

Michael Grosse-Broemer, parliamentary whip for Merkels Christian Democratic bloc,... Read More

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Michael Grosse-Broemer, parliamentary whip for Merkels Christian Democratic bloc, said, NATO membership for Ukraine isnt on the agenda at this point,

For Putin, the alliance once arrayed against the Soviet Union remains an adversary. Ukrainian membership in NATO would be absolutely unacceptable, a Russian government official said yesterday, asking not to be named discussing diplomatic policy. Any referendum that backed NATO membership in Ukraine would lead to further escalation which Russia wouldnt tolerate, the offical said.

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Merkel Said to Reject Ukraines NATO Bid Over Russian Tensions

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Pro-Russian separatists ride on top of a tank near the town of Krasnyi Luch in Lugansk region, eastern Ukraine, on October 28, 2014.

Moscow has routinely denied it played any direct role in the conflict in Ukraine, which has claimed more than 4,000 lives.

Breedlove spoke during a brief visit to Kiev, where he met with top officials to discuss continued NATO assistance for Ukraine in its fight against Russian-backed separatists in the east.

"We are going to help Ukraine's military to increase its capacities and capabilities through interaction with U.S. and European command," he said, adding that it "will make them ever more interoperable with our forces."

Read MoreReaching behind the Iron Curtain for yield

Ukraine has received multiple pledges of military support from Western nations, but has been frustrated by Washington's reluctance to promise any lethal equipment. But a senior aide to President Barack Obama said last week that he believes the U.S. should consider giving lethal defensive equipment to Ukraine.

Tony Blinken, deputy U.S. national security adviser, said he believed Washington ought to consider strengthening Ukrainian forces as a message to Moscow. Providing defensive military equipment to Ukraine has broad support in the U.S. Congress.

The Ukrainian armed advance against rebel forces ground to a halt and was substantially reversed over the summer as government troops found themselves faced by a well-equipped and determined foe.

Read MoreIsrael weighs action against Iran: Jerusalem Post

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NATO: Russia ready for Ukraine attack

NATO's top military commander said he was "very concerned" that Russia's military build-up in the annexed Crimean region could be used as a launchpad for attacks across the whole Black Sea region.

US General Philip Breedlove's comments come amid fears in Kiev that Russian-backed rebels will try to grab more land in eastern Ukraine to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.

"We are very concerned with the militarisation of Crimea," Breedlove said following meetings with Ukraine's top political and military leaders in Kiev.

"The capabilities that are being installed in Crimea ... are able to exert influence over the entire Black Sea," he said, highlighting the influx of cruise missiles and surface-to-air rockets.

Russia's defence ministry said Wednesday that it had deployed a batch of 14 military jets to Crimea as part of a squadron of 30 that will be stationed on the peninsula.

Breedlove also repeated accusations that Russian troops were inside east Ukraine "training, equipping, giving backbone" to rebel forces, as Ukraine's military said several more columns of military hardware and troops were spotted crossing over the border from Russia on Tuesday.

Moscow fiercely rejects any claims that it is involved in the fighting in east Ukraine but gives open political backing to the rebels, who now boast the heavy weaponry of a regular army.

Meanwhile, deadly clashes between government forces and the separatists rumbled on, with Ukraine's military saying two soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours.

Ukraine's new government this week stated its desire to move towards NATO membership, triggering further ire from Russia which strongly opposes the expansion of Western institutions in what it considers its backyard.

The Ukrainian public has previously not been keen on NATO membership but there has been a dramatic shift in opinion since Russia's involvement in the separatist uprising, that has cost the lives of over 4,300 people since April.

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NATO 'very concerned' by Russian military build-up in Crimea

Published November 26, 2014

U.S. European Command Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Philip M. Breedlove speaks during a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)(The Associated Press)

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, left, greets U.S. European Command Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Philip M. Breedlove in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Mykola Lazarenko, Pool)(The Associated Press)

U.S. European Command Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Philip M. Breedlove speaks during a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)(The Associated Press)

U.S. European Command Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Philip M. Breedlove speaks during a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)(The Associated Press)

KIEV, Ukraine NATO's top commander says Russia still has enough troops stationed on Ukraine's border to mount a major incursion, and that it is using its military might to affect political developments inside Ukraine.

U.S. Gen. Philip Breedlove said Tuesday that a large number of Russian troops are also active inside Ukraine, training and advising separatist rebels.

Moscow has routinely denied it played any direct role in the conflict in Ukraine, which has claimed more than 4,000 lives.

Ukraine has received multiple pledges of military support from Western nations, although the United States has so far stopped short of promising to provide any lethal equipment.

Breedlove said the focus of foreign assistance would be on helping increase the capability of Ukraine's armed forces through interaction with U.S. and European command.

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NATO commander says Russia still braced for incursion into Ukraine

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The divisive issue of whether Ukraine should join NATO will be put to a vote years from now, after the necessary reforms have been completed, President Petro Poroshenko announced Monday.

Russia's steadfast opposition to its neighbor and longtime ally becoming a member of the Western military alliance is a major factor in the armed conflict racking eastern Ukraine as Moscow attempts to thwart what it sees as the Kiev leadership's about-face to align instead with Europe.

An Oct. 26 parliamentary election has empowered a coalition in favor of pursuing membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as soon as possible, although all parties recognize that it will take years to meet the alliance conditions for new members.

Poroshenko has taken a more go-slow approach to NATO membership in view of Moscow's aggressive action in protest of Ukrainians' ouster of Kremlin-allied President Viktor Yanukovich in February. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to seize Ukraine's Crimean peninsula days after Yanukovich was toppled by a pro-Europe rebellion and he is accused by a broad array of foreign governments of arming and instigating separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine. More than 4,300 people have been killed since fighting broke out in April.

"The decision on accession to NATO lies solely in the competence of the people of Ukraine," Poroshenko said at a news conference Monday with visiting Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Poroshenko said Ukraine was committed to making the reforms and investments necessary to meet NATO requirements but that a referendum would be held after those milestones are reached, sometime around 2020, to determine whether or not to join what is now a 28-nation alliance.

Putin has cast NATO expansion into the former Soviet sphere of influence as aggression aimed at undermining the security of Russia, and the frequency of provocative air and sea space violations has tripled this year as Moscow takes a more hostile posture against its NATO-member neighbors.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned Monday that aerial intrusions by Russian fighter planes, numbering more than 100 so far this year, are putting commercial aircraft at risk.

"They're not turning on the transponders, they are not filing their flight plans and they're not communicating with civilian air-traffic control," Stoltenberg told reporters at an alliance gathering in The Hague. "That poses a risk on civilian air traffic."

Stoltenberg also commented on the status of Ukraine's eligibility to join NATO, saying that although it had been put on the back burner it remains available to the embattled country.

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Poroshenko: Ukrainians will vote on joining NATO years from now

Ukraine will choose whether to join NATO in a referendum once the former Soviet republic moves from empty declarations and completes real policy changes needed for membership, President Petro Poroshenko said.

We have worked out an intense plan for the next six years, so that the country meets the criteria to join the EU and to join NATO, Poroshenko said in Kiev yesterday. And only then the Ukrainian people will decide on joining or not joining, in a referendum.

Ukraines government said Sept. 26 that it seeks to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the short term. Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the U.S. and European Union countries for encroaching into former communist Europe, saying they have violated agreements signed at the end of the Cold War and pose a threat to his countrys national security.

More than 4,300 people have been killed during the conflict and much of the local infrastructure has been laid to waste in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine along the Russian border. The EU and the U.S. accuse Russia of not abiding by a Sept. 5 truce signed in Minsk, Belarus. Ukraine says Russian troops and vehicles continue to cross the frontier. Russia denies its fomenting the war.

Two people died and others were injured when a shell hit a bus in Donetsk today, RIA Novosti reported, citing the citys mayor. Pro-Russian insurgents attacked 17 locations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions overnight using mortars, multiple rocket launch systems and shells, the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council said in a statement on Facebook.

Rebels fired 19 times at residential areas in the Luhansk region alone in the past 24 hours, the council said. Government forces fired 30 artillery rounds to protect their positions and civilians, it said, adding that troops near the key port city of Mariupol have all means to repel the aggressor.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to pull back its forces from eastern Ukraine and respect the wobbly truce. He also said that the military alliance would stick by a 2008 decision to let Ukraine join if it eventually meets the criteria and decides to do so, even if membership isnt being discussed now.

The open door is still open, Stoltenberg said.

We are calling on Russia to pull back its forces from eastern Ukraine and to respect the Minsk agreements, and to stop fueling the conflict by supporting the separatists and use all its influence on the separatists to make sure they are respecting the cease-fire, Stoltenberg told lawmakers from NATO countries in The Hague yesterday. We are calling on Russia to stop violating international law and to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Germanys foreign minister expressed concerns that Russia is seeking to split up Ukraine by supporting separatists in the east as Putin defended his stance in the conflict.

Originally posted here:

Ukrainians to Decide on Future NATO Membership in Eventual Vote

Ukraine will decide whether to join NATO in a referendum at the end of this decade once it moves from empty declarations and completes real policy changes needed for membership, President Petro Poroshenko said.

We have worked out an intense plan for the next six years, so that the country meets the criteria to join the EU and to join NATO, Poroshenko said in Kiev today. And only then the Ukrainian people will decide on joining or not joining, in a referendum.

Ukraines government said Sept. 26 that it seeks to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the short term. Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the U.S. and European Union countries for encroaching into former communist Europe, saying they have violated agreements signed at the end of the Cold War and pose a threat to his countrys national security.

More than 4,300 people have been killed during the conflict and much of the local infrastructure has been laid to waste in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine along the Russian border. The EU and the U.S. accuse Russia of not abiding by a Sept. 5 truce signed in Minsk, Belarus. Ukraine says Russian troops and vehicles continue to cross the frontier. Russia denies its fomenting the war.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to pull back its forces from eastern Ukraine and respect the wobbly truce. He also said that the military alliance would stick by a 2008 decision to let Ukraine join if it eventually meets the criteria and decides to do so, even if membership isnt being discussed now.

The open door is still open, Stoltenberg said.

The conflict has intensified since rebels held elections Nov. 2. Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 24 were wounded by separatists over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters today. In Donetsk, 12 citizens were wounded by shelling over the weekend, the city council said on its website.

We are calling on Russia to pull back its forces from eastern Ukraine and to respect the Minsk agreements, and to stop fueling the conflict by supporting the separatists and use all its influence on the separatists to make sure they are respecting the cease-fire, Stoltenberg told lawmakers from NATO countries in The Hague today. We are calling on Russia to stop violating international law and to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Germanys foreign minister expressed concerns that Russia is seeking to split up Ukraine by supporting separatists in the east as Putin defended his stance in the conflict.

Im taking Russia at its word that it doesnt want to destroy the unity of Ukraine, Der Spiegel magazine cited the German minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as saying in an interview. The reality, however, is speaking a different language.

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Ukrainians to Decide on NATO Membership in Referendum

Published November 24, 2014

KABUL, Afghanistan NATO says that two of its service members have been killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan.

Following protocol, it did not confirm their nationalities. A NATO spokeswoman says the attack happened just before 9 a.m. Monday.

A spokesman for Kabul's police chief, Hashmat Stanekzai, says that a bomb attached to a bicycle detonated near a foreign military convoy in the eastern part of the capital Kabul.

He says one Afghan civilian was wounded.

Monday's deaths bring the total for this month of foreign service members killed in Afghanistan to three. The total number killed this year is 63, 46 of them Americans.

Military convoys and foreign compounds in Kabul have been specifically targeted in recent weeks by insurgent groups waging war against the Afghan government.

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NATO says 2 international service members killed in attack in eastern Afghanistan

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Grenell Congress should push for Ukraine to join NATO
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