Monthly Archives: September 2014

A Ukrainian serviceman of the border service patrols in front of the seaport in Mariupol on September 1, 2014. Alexander KHUDOTEPLY/AFP/Getty Images

BRUSSELS - NATO leaders this week will be asked to approve the creation of a high-readiness force and the stockpiling of military equipment and supplies in Eastern Europe to help protect member nations there against potential Russian aggression, the alliance's secretary general said Monday.

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As NATO prepares to counter potential Russian aggression, the rebels in Ukraine that operate with Moscow's backing softened their demand for full independence Monday, saying they would respect Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for autonomy - a shift that reflects Moscow's desire to strike a deal at a new round of peace talks.

It remains unclear, however, whether the talks can reach a compromise amid the brutal fighting that has continued in eastern Ukraine. On Monday, the rebels pushed Ukrainian government forces from an airport near Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city, the latest in a series of military gains.

The fighting in Ukraine is also spreading to other parts of the country.

Firmly in control of the first contested city of Donetsk, the rebels are consolidating hold on the city of Novoazovsk, which they seized last week, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

Twenty miles away lies the industrial center of Mariupol, widely assumed to be next on the rebels' list.

But the pro-Russian forces won't be welcome here.

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NATO preparing high-readiness force to counter Russia

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- NATO members meeting this week in Wales are expected to create "a very high-readiness force" to deal with Russian aggression in Ukraine and other international conflicts, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday.

In a speech on the NATO website, Rasmussen said the fighting force will be part of an overall Readiness Action Plan that "responds to Russia's aggressive behavior -- but it equips the alliance to respond to all security challenges, wherever they may arise."

He said this "spearhead" force would be able to "travel light, but strike hard if needed."

NATO will look at possible upgrades to infrastructure that could include airfields and ports, he said.

New bases will be set up and equipment pre-positioned at bases, a NATO diplomatic source said.

"We are also facing crises to the southeast and south," said a senior NATO official. The plan "needs to be able to deal with all crises that we might be facing in the future from wherever they might come."

Rasmussen said President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine will attend the summit and NATO will "make clear our support for Ukraine."

Also on Monday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament that the presence of Russian soldiers on Ukraine soil is completely unjustified and unacceptable.

"Russia appears to be trying to force to Ukraine to abandon its democratic choices through the barrel of a gun," he said.

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NATO plan has fast-response force

NATO leaders will respond to the Ukraine crisis by agreeing this week to create a spearhead rapid reaction force, potentially including several thousand troops, that could be sent to a hotspot in as little as two days, officials said on Monday.

The 28-nation alliance already has a rapid reaction force but U.S. President Barack Obama and other leaders meeting for a NATO summit in Wales on Thursday and Friday are expected to create a new force that would be able to respond more quickly to a crisis.

The speed with which Russian forces infiltrated Ukraines Crimea region in March has focused minds at NATO on speeding up its ability to respond if a similar crisis ever occurred on NATO territory.

We will develop what I would call a spearhead ... a very high-readiness force able to deploy at very short notice. This spearhead would be provided by allies in rotation, and could include several thousand troops, ready to respond where needed with air, sea and special forces support, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference.

A senior NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the spearhead force could range from a very small size up to something potentially as large as a brigade size. A NATO brigade typically numbers between 3,000 and 5,000 troops.

The official said the force would be able to deploy to a crisis zone in just two days. Other NATO sources said however that some elements of the force might take longer to arrive.

Currently it takes five days for the first units of NATOs rapid reaction force to arrive.

The creation of the new force will be one of a range of measures in a readiness action plan that NATO will adopt at the summit to step up deterrence in response to the Ukraine crisis.

BASES

Eastern European NATO members, including Poland, have appealed to NATO to permanently station thousands of troops on its territory to deter any possible Russian attack.

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NATO creating spearhead force able to respond quickly to Ukraine crisis