Monthly Archives: March 2022

NATO leaders agreed to boost military protection of the alliance's border with Russia, while ignoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys plea for additional military equipment.

Zelenskyy delivered a virtual address to an emergency meeting of NATO in Brussels, where President Joe Biden and other world leaders on Thursday agreed to impose more sanctions and boost humanitarian support, one month into Russias invasion of Ukraine. But Zelenskyy said the alliance could prevent the deaths of civilians by sending more military equipment to Ukrainians fighting for their country.

Ukraine asked for your planes. So that we do not lose so many people. And you have thousands of fighter jets! But we haven't been given any yet, Zelenskyy said, according to a translated transcript of his remarks. You have at least 20,000 tanks! Ukraine asked for a percentone percentof all your tanks to be given or sold to us! But we do not have a clear answer.

Zelenskyy did not repeat his request for a no-fly zone or membership in NATO, according to a senior administration official.

NATO leaders did announce the establishment of four multinational battlegroups, to be located in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. The alliance also announced that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would serve another year, until Sept. 30, 2023.

Today, NATO leaders agreed to reset our deterrence and defense for the longer-term to face a new security reality, Stoltenberg said at a press conference, adding that more details on the alliances new security posture are expected to be announced at the next NATO Summit in Madrid in June, where allies will approve a new guiding strategic concept document.

NATO allies have voiced strong support for Ukraine, but have been wary of provoking Russia into a conflict directly with the alliance that could mean World War III. But Zelenskyy warned that if the alliance does not act to help Ukrainians stop Moscow now, Russian leader Vladimir Putin will only push farther into eastern Europe.

NATO may be afraid of Russia's actions. I am sure you already understand that Russia does not intend to stop in Ukraine, he said. It wants to go further against the eastern members of NATO, the Baltic states, Poland.Will NATO then stop thinking about it, worrying about how Russia will react?

Biden touted the help the United States has provided so far, saying at a press conference after the NATO meeting that his administration has approved $2 billion in military aid to Ukraine since January 2021, including anti-aircraft systems, shoulder-mounted anti-armor missiles, small arms, ammunition, and drones in an $800 million package on March 16. Countries including Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom have also approved the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine, according to a NATO release.

But the focus at the emergency meeting was on non-military deliverables the allies could use to punish Russia and help Ukraine. The United States announced $1 billion in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, plus an additional $320 million to fight for democracy and human rights in the country, according to a White House fact sheet. The administration is also spending more than $11 billion over the next five years to protect global food supply lines, and announced that the United States will welcome up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Russian violence.

On Friday, Biden will fly to Poland, where he suggested he would be meeting with refugees, before adding that hes not supposed to say where Im going.

The United States also announced new sanctions in coordination with the European Union and the G7 that will target more than 300 members of the Russian legislative body and 48 state-owned defense companies.

Putin was banking on NATO being split, Biden said In my early conversations with him in December and early January, it was clear to me he didnt think we could sustain this cohesion. NATO has never, never been more united than it is today.

Bidens speech was quickly dismissed by Republicans as not going far enough to help Ukrainian citizens under daily Russian attacks.

With all due respect to President Biden: Unity in NATO does not matter while Ukraine is being destroyed, Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., tweeted, adding that the United States should be doing so much more, including anti-ship missiles and anti-aircraft defenses.

Ukraine's fighters have demonstrated great courage & strength, Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., tweeted. As he meets with world leaders, President Biden should offer Ukraine what it truly needs to defend against Putin's unprovoked war - MiGs and more lethal power. The U.S. must lead.

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NATO Ignores Zelenskyy's Plea For 1% of Its Tanks, Jets - Defense One

The alliance needs to step up plans to deter Russia and prepare for possible conflict.

As NATO leaders meet on March 24 to discuss what more can be done to pressure Russia to end its ill-prepared and devastating invasion and to support Ukraine in its valiant defense, allies will also be discussing changes needed for longer-term security. One key change should be in NATOs approach to the deterrence of Russia.

While NATO military power has strengthened significantly since 2014, it is not yet enough to achieve deterrence by denial of an adversary like Russia. Based on Putins behavior to date, the cost of a war with NATO may have deterred him from direct aggression against the alliance, but not necessarily the employment of hybrid or cyber-attacks or use of intimidation and malign influence against allies. The alliance has been surprised on multiple occasions by Putins willingness to use violence and take risks. Given that he could very well remain in power for more than another decade (he is 70 this year), and even if replaced, could be replaced by an equally aggressive hardliner. NATO should plan accordingly.

The most important deduction is that NATO 2030 efforts to strengthen deterrence and defense, as well as the next Strategic Concept, should include adjustments in NATO military power to achieve deterrence by denial to ensure the greatest likelihood of success in changing Russian strategic calculus. This means being able to defend early and successfully in such a manner that convinces Russian leaders that they could not win and end a short campaign against the alliance on their own terms. It requires NATO action and reaction at speed and the necessary defensive capabilities to deny Russian military advantage in heavy conventional forces, long-range fire, and missiles.

To achieve such speed and defensive effect, NATO should commit to further adjusting policies and investment in the fundamentals of NATO military power, including posture, structure and forces, readiness, plans and concepts, training and exercises, capabilities, and interoperability. The 2014 Defense Investment Pledge (DIP), its 2% and 20% goals, need to be met or exceeded by all 30 allies. Recent, significant commitments to increased defense spending by Germany, Romania, Latvia, and Italy are moving in the right direction.

In terms of posture, NATO should commit to a greater forward presence and improved integrated command and force structure: Forward deployed forces should be augmented in size, meaning a few regional land brigades in sustainable locations, including necessary enablers and air and missile defense, and be better integrated into the NATO Force Structure. Joint Force Commands (JFCs) should have regional and rotational NATO force structure headquarters associated with planning, training, and exercises.

For example, NATO Rapid Deployable Corps could rotate through annual cycles of forward deployed elements subordinate to the JFCs, and in command of regional multinational force headquarters and national elements as transferred to Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) by national authorities. National Joint Force Maritime Component Commands could be constituted on an annual or semi-annual basis to command NATO Standing Naval Forces. National Joint Force Air Component Commands could rotate a portion of their personnel to reinforce AIRCOM on a semi-annual basis for training and exercises. A greater rotational force presence in being would require investments in readiness, training infrastructure, and exercise resourcing, and would significantly improve collective readiness, regional awareness, and operational interoperability.

In terms of readiness, a new scale of response forces is needed, as well as clarity of allocated forces and transparency of their training, equipment, and manning readiness levels. The scale of the NATO Response Force (NRF) and Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) needs upscaling to respond to simultaneous contingencies in multiple regions of the alliance. And SACEUR needs unit level visibility of forces committed to an upscaled NATO Response Force (NRF) and the NATO Readiness Initiative. He needs an automated and frequently updated readiness reporting system.

In terms of plans, NATO should complete, implement, and regularly refine SACEURs area of responsibility (AOR) wide Strategic Plan and other associated plans, as well as integrate national deployable and territorial forces into these plans. SACEUR should be provided delegated authority to propose changes in posture and readiness in accordance with existing plans and changing conditions. In terms of concepts, the Deterrence and Defense (DDA) of the Euro-Atlantic Area and NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept requires follow through, refinement, and resourcing. Additionally, NATO Military Authorities (NMAs) should develop a concept of NATO military innovation to guide how NMAs contribute to maintaining the alliances technological edge.

In terms of training and exercises, much has been done to improve focus, scale, quality, and effect in other words, alignment with DDA. Work should continue and greater emphasis should be placed on incorporating realistic Russian capabilities, doctrine and tactics, techniques, and procedures at the operational and tactical level to put NATO concepts and capabilities to the test.

In terms of capabilities, NATO must continue to invest in and improve NATO and national C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) and integrated air and missile defense, national deep precision strike capabilities, electronic warfare, and high-end land enablers currently missing from NATO and national corps and division structures. This is where the commitment to 20% DIP will play a role, as well as additional common-funded resources.

Space-based capabilities should also be acquired, to provide persistent ISR, including detection and tracking of hypersonic weapons, as well as operational communications (to improve resilience, redundancy in a contested environment.) NATOs efforts in innovation and advanced technology must keep the warfighter at its center, be driven by military requirements, and include robust experimentation and testing by NATO and national commanders and operators to ensure new capabilities are fit-for-purpose and rapidly integrated.

In terms of interoperability, material standards deserve the attention operational standards have received over the last decade. Many issues at the tactical level must be addressed, including enabling real time sharing of data and information, establishing secure mobile communications, enabling integration of air and missile defense, ISR, and joint fire, and enabling cross-leveling of what should be common logistics. Existing obstacles are due to a lack of material standards, outdated material standards, or a lack of national enforcement of established material standards. All aspects deserve increased attention, resourcing, and validation mechanisms.

The added value of NATO military power is its ability to organize and integrate allied and national forces and resources for greater effect. All aspects of posture, structure, plans, training, capabilities, and standards directly contribute to NATO military power achieving the imperative of decisive military advantage. A concerted effort to revise NATO military power is needed to have the desired effect of preventing Russian aggression against allies and would contribute to deterring further Russian violent adventures in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Skip Davisis a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Skip recently served as NATOs Deputy Assistant Secretary General, Defense Investment Division, where he assisted allies in capability and policy. Prior to that, he served for 37 years with the US Army, retiring as a Major General.

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NATO Must Improve its Military Power, and Fast - Center for European Policy Analysis

Top story: Fear always makes you an accomplice

Good morning, Im Warren Murray and this is Tuesdays foremost news.

Vladimir Putins main spokesman has said the west pushed the Kremlin into the corner with Nato expansion, while sanctions on trade, finance and oligarchs were akin to total war against Russia. Dmitry Peskovs remarks in an interview on American TV came amid more claims from UK and Ukrainian military intelligence that Russias war effort is in serious trouble. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Russia was expected to bolster its flagging invasion force by sending more than 1,000 mercenaries from its private Wagner military group into eastern Ukraine as the Kremlin continues to suffer heavy losses.

Peace talks that are due to resume between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey today may be overshadowed by reports that the oligarch Roman Abramovich and the Ukrainian MP Rustem Umerov suffered symptoms of poisoning after informal peace negotiations in Kyiv. Both men, who consumed only chocolate and water, were treated in Istanbul for symptoms that reportedly included loss of sight and peeling skin. The account backs up the claims of a potential poisoning first reported in the Wall Street Journal and by the investigative outlet Bellingcat.

This morning, Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has urged countries to have the courage to keep supplying weapons to Ukraine without fear of possible Russian retaliation, declaring: Fear always makes you an accomplice. Zelenskiy hailed military success in Irpin and in parts of Kyiv. Ukraines military intelligence said its forces also continued to defend Motyzhyn, Lisne, Kapitanivka and Dmytrivka. It said Ukrainian forces continue to maintain the circular defence of the city of Mariupol and defend and deter the advance of the enemy in the Chernihiv region although UK intelligence said the Russians were gaining ground in Mariupol. According to the mayor of the besieged southern city, almost 5,000 people, including about 210 children, have been killed. Keep up with events at our live blog.

Partygate fines loom The first fines for lockdown breaches in Downing Street are expected to be issued imminently after Scotland Yard concluded laws were broken at the heart of government, sources have told the Guardian. No 10 has promised to reveal if Boris Johnson receives a fixed penalty notice, which could trigger a vote of no confidence in the Commons. It is understood the Met is expected to firstly issue around 20 fines in the most straightforward cases. For two months the force has been examining material from the Sue Gray inquiry into partygate. Police are investigating 12 separate events in 2020 and 2021, six of which Johnson is said to have attended.

Smith sorry for slap Will Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock, the Oscars and viewers after slapping the comedian on stage, saying it was not indicative of the man I want to be. Smith wrote online that he reacted emotionally to Rocks joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smiths baldness, related to the condition alopecia, but his behaviour was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jadas medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. The Academy condemned the assault and said it would launch an inquiry. Janai Nelson, from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, wrote online: I know were all still processing, but the way casual violence was normalised tonight by a collective national audience will have consequences that we cant even fathom in the moment.

Special needs at school Mainstream schools in England are to be required to change their culture and practice to become more inclusive of children with special educational needs and disabilities, abbreviated as Send. The government will set out plans to overhaul the Send system in a green paper published today. The paper will propose new national standards across education, health and care to better support children with Send, plus a legal requirement for councils to publish inclusion plans.

An inclusion dashboard is proposed to help parents understand what support is available in their area. Under the current regime, parents often have to engage in lengthy battles to try to secure the right provision for their child. Publication of the paper will be followed by a 13-week consultation.

Type 2 risks abound People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of 57 other health conditions including cancer, kidney disease and neurological illnesses, according to a Cambridge study. The condition, which is linked to being overweight, inactive or having a family history of diabetes, affects millions worldwide. Researchers found those with type 2 have the related health problems as many as five years earlier than people without it. Separately, experts are calling for genetic testing to predict how individuals will respond to medicines. About 6.5% of UK hospital admissions are caused by drug reactions while most prescription medicines only work on 30% to 50% of people. The British Pharmacological Society and the Royal College of Physicians are proposing personalised prescribing according to peoples genes.

Wronging rights The British government is committing vandalism as it attempts to dismantle the Human Rights Act and bring in draconian legislation on refugees and policing, says Amnesty Internationals annual report. Sacha Deshmukh, head of Amnesty UK, said the Human Rights Act was the central pillar of rights and protections in the UK Its the means by which we can challenge police behaviour, contest poorer health outcomes for ethnic minority groups, and ensure a proper Covid inquiry. Amnesty also criticises the governments nationality and borders bill, which is going through parliament, and the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill. On a global scale, Amnesty says post-pandemic promises to build back better have been broken by governments across the world. Despite enough production to fully vaccinate the world in 2021, by the end of the year under 4% of those living in poor countries had been fully vaccinated.

Crypto climate stakes Cryptocurrency mining creates a huge carbon footprint but a switch in its computer coding could fix that, says a campaign being launched today. Change the Code Not the Climate seeks to replace the proof of work system under which computers use huge amounts of electricity to validate and secure transactions with another system called proof of stake, where miners have to pledge their coins to verify transactions. The campaign says it would use 99% less power. Michael Brune, the campaign director, said that under proof of work, redundant fossil fuel plants in the US were being cranked back up just to power crypto mining, meaning there was no way we can reach our climate goals. The Ethereum crypto-coin is planned to switch over to proof of stake this year.

P&Os sacking of 800 UK employees without notice prompted outrage from politicians and unions alike. But will anything change? Joanna Partridge explores a low point in the recent history of industrial relations.

Today in FocusHow to make the ferryman pay?

Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2020/05/05-61553-gnl.fw.200505.jf.ch7DW.mp3

To eat in the modern world is often to eat in a state of profound sensory disengagement. Bee Wilson on how we can restore that lost connection to food.

The first index to track race representation across UK sport has led to 43% of national governing bodies being handed the lowest three available grades. Paul Collingwood, the interim head Test coach, says England have bottomed out and that captain Joe Root has the backing of the players and management. Gareth Southgate has said it is unfortunate that the pandemic means England will face only one non-European opponent in the year leading up to the 2022 World Cup. George Russell has warned that he and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, have no chance of fighting for the Formula One title unless Mercedes drastically improves. The remaining tickets for the final of the womens European Championship sold out in an hour with 100 days to go before England kick off against Austria at Old Trafford. And a group of more than 70 current and former Canadian gymnasts have called for an independent investigation into what they described as a toxic culture and abusive practices within their sport in the country.

The governor of the Bank of England has warned that the rise in energy prices could be worse than any single year of the oil shock of the 1970s. Andrew Bailey said demand from consumers and businesses was slowing because of soaring prices for gas, electricity and other goods and services. The FTSE100 will gain 0.4% this morning, according to futures trade, and the pound is worth $1.310 and 1.191.

The Guardian leads today with Ukraine peace talks resume amid claims Abramovich was poisoned the sanctioned oligarch was involved in informal negotiations as part of a Russian-Ukrainian group, separate from the official talks. The main picture shows Will Smith and Chris Rock just after the slap. The Mirror has Abramovich poisoned at peace talks while the Daily Mail says he was left blinded and with peeling skin. That gets the big headline on the Times front as well although across the top it has Sunak dampens hope of more help with energy bills.

The Sun says Chemical attack on Roman while the Telegraph leads with Partygate fines to be issued from today. The i says Johnson and Sunak row goes nuclear thats because the PMs flagship energy strategy has been held up amid disagreement with the chancellor about funding a new generation of up to eight nuclear power stations, costing the public more than 13bn.

The Express says Triple lock is back! Pensions are set to rise by 7.4% the triple lock wont be reinstated until next year, though. Duke back on parade thats the Metro, because Prince Andrew will attend a thanksgiving service for his late father. The Financial Times has Britons face historic shock to incomes, BoE governor warns and its front-page picture story says the Ukrainians have regained ground against the Russian invaders.

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Tuesday briefing: Russia's warning over Nato and sanctions | - The Guardian

Wars are fought on the battlefield, but they are waged in capitals. Conditions have changed dramatically in Ukraine. Such changes force all parties, including NATO, to adapt how the war is fought and waged.

Ukraines military, with NATOs military aid and Western sanctions, has stalled the Russian offensive. Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinHouse Oversight launches probe into Credit Suisse ties to Russian oligarchs Biden's 'careless remark' on Putin incenses GOP Leon Panetta: 'All of us share moral outrage about Putin' MORE cannot continue his ground assault with the forces he now has available. But he has not given up his initial objective to subjugate Ukraine to his will. He has only shifted tactics: going on the defensive, refitting some forces in Belarus for redeployment into Ukraine, and continuing to bomb and shell Ukraines forces and cities.

Russia announced its main effort has shifted, from seizing Kyiv to securing the Donbas region with the intent to partition the country permanently. If this proves true, it is a shift of necessity that may indicate that, should Putin have to negotiate an end to his illegal aggression, his minimum acceptable end-state is retaining Crimea and an expanded position in the Donbas.

But Russian lost momentum does not equal gained Ukrainian momentum.

Ukraine must seize it by assuming the offense first, through local counter-attacks to push Russian positions back. These have begun, but theyre not enough. The Ukrainian military must conduct a general counter-offensive to push Russian forces back to their pre-February 2022 positions. But the Ukrainians cannot do this with the weaponry and equipment they have now. And its an open question whether even the expanded military aid promised by NATO will be enough.

The Zelensky government must ask itself a fundamental question: Are pre-February conditions a satisfactory strategic goal? NATO also faces a fundamental question: Will it supply enough military aid to Ukraine so that it can conduct a general counter-offensive necessary to re-establish pre-2022 invasion conditions?

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Such a counter-offensive will take months. It will require both sequential and simultaneous operations. In sequence, Ukraine will have to decide where to concentrate forces large enough and powerful enough to push the Russians back and hold them there. Simultaneously, they will have to conduct both defensive actions and local counter-attacks to prevent the Russians from expanding their hold in the Donbas and Crimea areas. Sustained sequential and simultaneous operations are complex and will have costs in lives, weaponry and supplies.

Throughout, Putin will contest every Ukrainian advance. He will order Russian troops to continue bombarding non-combatants, shelling non-military targets, blocking humanitarian assistance, using starvation as a method of war, and shelling refugees who try to escape the horror his forces create. He will continue his threats of chemical and nuclear escalation.

Following the series of summits in Europe last week, NATO seems committed to defend itself, deter Putin from widening or escalating the war, and assist Ukraine enough to conduct local counter-attacks. NATO has strengthened its force posture on its Eastern flank, adding more combat units, air and missile defense units, and artillery and rocket forces; reinforcing and repositioning air forces; beefing up its surface and subsurface naval fleet; and increasing the readiness of some of its nuclear forces. All this strengthens NATOs defenses and acts as a deterrent to Russias widening or escalating the war. It also serves a secondary purpose: having the forces available and in position should Putins actions require NATO political leaders to make other decisions.

NATO also seems committed to providing large amounts of humanitarian assistance to help with refugees and displaced persons, but not to protecting delivery of this assistance inside Ukraine. International humanitarian law calls for unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. NATO should insist on safe passage immediately, and provide protection for such delivery, initially, and at a minimum, in Western Ukraine. This is not a provocation or an escalation.

Also unclear from the summits is this: Will the Allies provide whatever Ukraine needs to push Russian forces back to their pre-February locations to include providing aircraft spare parts and, if necessary, aircraft commensurate with what Ukraine has now? President BidenJoe BidenPelosi: 'I fear for our democracy' if Republicans win House Jan. 6 panel votes to advance contempt proceedings for Navarro, Scavino Biden's 'careless remark' on Putin incenses GOP MOREs speech in Warsaw posed three wartime challenges that democracies must meet: If the Allies meant We stand with you, period, the answer must be yes to full support of a counter-offensive. If the Allies want to win the fight on behalf of a rule-based, and prevent a force-based, international order, the answer must be yes. And the answer must be yes if NATO and other democracies want to pass the test of the moment and the test of all time.

Supporting a general counter-offensive protracts the war, but it also helps Ukraine win the war and keeps NATO forces from fighting Russians directly unless Russias continued inhumanity finally shocks Allied public conscience and pressure builds for direct action. NATO actions, not speeches, will determine whether the Allies meet Bidens three challenges. Deeds, not words, are the coin of wars realm.

The U.S. does have limits, however. Among them are these three: Whatever Washington decides to do, it cannot risk eroding NATO unity. Nor can it exceed what the American people are willing to support. Further, the U.S. must keep an eye on the Pacific and the Middle East.

American political and military leaders face multiple security challenges; they cannot develop security-myopia. But within these limits, the U.S., NATO and other Allies must continue humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the pressure-increasing sanctions on Putins Russia. And they must assist Ukraine in pushing back Russian forces at least to where they were before the February 2022 phase of the war began or else the Allies will have set conditions for Ukraines permanent partitioning.

James M. Dubik, Ph.D., a retired lieutenant general of the U.S. Army, is a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War. He served in military command and operational roles in Bosnia, Haiti and Iraq, and helped train forces in Afghanistan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Honduras, and many NATO countries.

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The next step: Push the Russians back | TheHill - The Hill

More than a month into the invasion, Russian troops continue to try to drive deeper into Ukraine. Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. Senator and former UN Ambassador to NATO, said Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions are uniting allies.

He thought probably that he could invade Ukraine as he did Crimea, as he did Georgia and not face consequences.And instead of dividing NATO, and NATO debating about whether it called for our doing something to help this country that has been attacked, it united NATO, said Hutchison.

The former ambassador said the U.S could be doing more to help.

We ought to give them more weapons to be sure they don't run out.While we have avenues to get weapons in, we need to produce those weapons for Ukraine, she said.

Hutchison said there are areas where the U.S. can contribute, including making more natural gas and oil available.

We have it. We can produce it. Itwill take some time for some of this, Hutchison said.

Hutchison said a united front is necessary as this continues.

We have 30 allies in NATO. We have 40 partners, all that are western cultures that have freedom, and all of us need to stand together to be strong to tell Putin clearly you will not win, said Hutchison.

In his nightly address to Ukraine Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his priorities are sovereignty and territorial integrity in regards to upcoming talks with Russia.

Capping a four-day trip to Europe Saturday, President Joe Biden said of Russian leader Vladimir Putin: For Gods sake, this man cannot remain in power, words the White House immediately sought to downplay. But Biden on Monday said he was merely stating his personal feelings and giving voice to his "moral outrage" over Russian actions in Ukraine.

For the latest developments in the war in Ukraine and the security crisis in Eastern Europe, click here.

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We Ought to Give Them More Weapons,' Former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Ukraine - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Thousands of NATO troops are training in Norway not far from the countrys border with Russia.

NATO says the drills are not linked to the war in Ukraine, but it is on everyones mind.

"Whilst this exercise has been long-planned, it takes place against a dark backdrop," said Admiral Rob Baue, chair of the NATO military committee.

Russias invasion of Ukraine is putting the 30-country alliance on high alert and testing its core principle like never before.

For more than 70 years, NATO's Article 5 has stated that an armed attack against one member nation is an attack against all attractive protection, especially for smaller countries.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the U.S., Canada, and 10 western European nations as a counterweight to the Soviet Union.

NATO was designed to keep the Americans in, the Germans down, and the Russians out," said Paul Poast, international relations professor at the University of Chicago.

Since then, the alliance has more than doubled in size, adding 14 central and eastern European countries in the past 25 years.

Ukraine and Georgia were once part of the U.S.S.R., and when they expressed interest in joining NATO in 2008, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by invading Georgia.

Putin says NATOs eastern expansion is an existential threat to his country.

Earlier this year, he demanded that NATO retreat from eastern Europe and bar Ukraine from joining the alliance, but former NATO officials tell Newsy NATO is not about aggression.

The real issue here is Putin does not want any of the countries on his borders to orient themselves towards the west and not towards Moscow," said Ian Kelly, former public affairs adviser with U.S. Mission to NATO.

In fact, for many current and aspiring members, joining the alliance means protection from Russia.

It's not moving east, so to speak, as the east is moving towards it, and that's what is fundamentally misunderstood sometimes was as people try to react to what Putin says," said Gordon Skip Davis, former deputy asst. secretary-general for defense investment at NATO.

NATO, which struggled to find a role in a post-Cold War world, has significantly been revitalized.

The bloc has been acting with surprising speed and unity in sanctioning Russia and supplying weapons to Ukraine despite Russia's warning they might target weapon transfers.

The alliance is now under pressure from Ukraine to do more though how much more is the ultimate question.

"It is very important that the alliance presents a unified message that it will defend every inch of NATO territory, but on the other hand, because of Putin's strategic and tactical nuclear capability, no one wants to start a war with Russia," Kelly said.

On Thursday, President Biden and others will try to figure out how to strike that delicate balance.

Putin will likely be watching.

Newsy is the nations only free 24/7 national news network. Youcan find Newsy using your TVs digital antenna or stream for free.See all the ways you can watch Newsyhere.

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History of NATO and what it means for Russia's future - News 5 Cleveland WEWS

Madeleine Albright may have not coined the phrase indispensable nation, but she will always be associated with the concept.

By the time she became Secretary of State in 1997, the United States had become a beached superpower. During the Cold War, its forces had been deployed across the world for the explicit purpose of deterring Soviet aggression. When the Soviet Union disappeared in 1991, so did the primary justification for Americas enormous troop presence abroad and globe-spanning web of military alliances.

The Czech-born Albright, who died on March 23 at age 84, helped the United States to conjure a new rationale for its militarized global role in the post-Cold War era.

Her trenchant belief that America was indispensable to global peace and progress led Albright to support military action against Iraq in 1998 and Serbia in 1999. It would be Albrights lasting regret that the U.S. failed to intervene in Rwanda in 1994 and stop the slaughter.

Albright left public office in January 2001. But her basic conviction that warfighting, when done by the United States, could be a progressive and even altruistic act has persisted in the corridors of Washington.

It has given leaders of both parties a rhetorical tool to justify interventionist foreign policies even when calls for restraint and retrenchment have been strong.

One of Albrights most consequential acts both as Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997 and as Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton was to support NATO expansion.

NATO had been a cornerstone of the Cold War security order in Europe, binding the United States to the defense of Western Europe. Albrights approach was to cast NATO not just as a military alliance but as a pillar of international stability and an engine of democratic progress. She saw the alliance as a conduit through which the United States could impart peace, order and good governance upon a fragile European continent.

At the time, critics cautioned that NATO enlargement would antagonize a post-Soviet Russia and could end up worsening the European security order.

Albrights answer was uncompromising.

We do not need Russia to agree to enlargement, she assured senators in 1997, stressing the word need.

The strategic and moral case for enlargement was overwhelming, explained Albright. If the newly democratized states of Central and Eastern Europe craved the protection of the United States, she concluded, then no other nation should be allowed to stand in the way.

These arguments prevailed in Washington and other NATO capitals. In July 1997, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were formally invited to join NATO. They were accepted into the alliance in 1999 the first, but not the last, former Eastern Bloc nations accepted into the alliance.

In hindsight, Albrights curt dismissal of Russias security concerns might seem to have been ill-judged. This is especially true in light of Russias invasion of Ukraine, which some analysts blame in part upon the speed and perceived recklessness of NATO expansion during the 1990s.

The advisability of NATO enlargement will be hotly debated for years to come and Albrights role in the process should not be spared scrutiny. But at the same time, it must be remembered that Albright was a woman of her times; the high points of her career during the Clinton Administration coincided with the pinnacle of American power.

Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that, during the 1990s, Albrights job was to help conduct the foreign relations of the most powerful country in the history of the world. It is understandable, perhaps, that she wanted to harness this awesome power toward causes such as nurturing freedom and democracy in countries that had struggled for decades to rid themselves of authoritarianism.

Albright lived to see five presidents govern in accordance with her own ideas about Americas special purpose. Even Donald Trump at times betrayed an underlying attachment to the logic of U.S. indispensability.

The world today is different from the 1990s, however. Now that rival states are more willing to punch back, it is far riskier for U.S. leaders to perform the role of indispensable nation. As President Joe Biden has cautioned, a military intervention against Russia in Ukraine could mean nothing less than World War III.

On the death of Madeleine Albright, then, U.S. leaders should also give thought to what sort of ideas should replace her towering precepts for overseas engagement. It is an urgent task.

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Madeleine Albright saw US as an indispensable nation and NATO expansion eastward as essential - The Conversation