Category Archives: NATO

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

Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP | Getty Images

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

'We are very concerned with the militarisation of Crimea' ... US General Philip Breedlove, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, speaks during a news conference in Kiev. Photo: Reuters

Kiev, Ukraine:NATO's top military commander said during a visit to Kiev on Wednesday that Russian forces were still operating in easternUkraine, providing the "backbone" to separatist rebels fighting government forces.

NATO's top military commander has also warned that Russia's "militarisation" of the annexed Crimea region could be used by Moscow to exert control across the whole Black Sea region.

"We are very concerned with the militarisation of Crimea," US General Philip Breedlove told a press conference in Kiev.

A Russian orthodox priest blesses a SU-27 SM fighter jet on the airfield of Belbek military airport outside Sevastopol, Crimea. Russia has moved 10 Russian SU-27 SM and four SU-30 fighter jets there. Photo: AFP

"The capabilities that are being installed in Crimea will bring an effect on almost the entire Black Sea."

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Breedlove, the commander of American forces in Europe, says that cruise and surface-to-air missiles installed on the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in March, would be "able to exert influence" over the strategic region.

He says the US-led alliance is "watching for indications" amid fears over the possibility that Russia could move any of its nuclear arsenal to Crimea.

A Russian T-72 tank without a licence plate and coming from Donetsk airport area moves along a snow-covered avenue in the district of Kievsky in Donetsk. Photo: AFP

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NATO concerned by Russian forces in Crimea and Ukraine: US General Breedlove

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

NATO Chief Warns Russia Using Cold War Tactics: Stoltenberg meets NATO troops on Estonian air base
Visiting an air base in Estonia, NATO #39;s Secretary General said Russia #39;s military activity around NATO air space is reminiscent of the Cold War era. Jens Stol...

By: UKRAINE TODAY

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NATO Chief Warns Russia Using Cold War Tactics: Stoltenberg meets NATO troops on Estonian air base - Video

NATO to Kremlin: #39;Withdraw Russian army from Ukraine #39;
NATO has demanded the Russian military pull back its forces deployed inside Ukraine and on the Russian border. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO #39;s Secretary General, ma...

By: UKRAINE TODAY

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NATO to Kremlin: 'Withdraw Russian army from Ukraine' - Video

NATO days 2014 statika 19.9. den nato Ostrava

By: Libor Minark

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NATO days 2014 statika 19.9. den nato Ostrava - Video

Afghanistan Parliament Approves U.S And Nato Agreement
Afghanistan Parliament Approves U.S And Nato Agreement The Afghan parliament has given the green light to military agreements allowing foreign troops to remain in the country past the end...

By: News and You

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Afghanistan Parliament Approves U.S And Nato Agreement - Video

Bagram: the war on wood
As the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan draws to a close, Bagram Airfield finds itself engaged in a different sort of battle: the #39;war on wood #39;. Across the sprawling base, temporary buildings...

By: NATO

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Bagram: the war on wood - Video

US Soldiers to Stay in Baltic States in 2015: NATO build-up in response to Kremlin Ukraine war
The US commander of ground forces in Europe says that American troops will stay in the Baltics and Poland for at least another year. The US sent additional troops to Eastern European NATO...

By: UKRAINE TODAY

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US Soldiers to Stay in Baltic States in 2015: NATO build-up in response to Kremlin Ukraine war - Video