Category Archives: NATO

It's the height of summer and that stainless steel bracelet is making your wrist feel uncomfortable and sweaty. (The leather band isn't so lovely, either.) What you need is a stylish solution worn by British spies and watch enthusiasts alike.

You need a NATO strap.

The NATO strap wasn't developed by the defense alliance of the same name but rather the British Ministry of Defence. (The NATO name came from its stock number.) The design of the strap is perfect for rugged conditions. It's a one-piece strap that slides underneath the case so that the skin never touches metal. It's great on hot days because the nylon wicks moisture away from the skin. It also means the strap will stay on the wrist even if a spring bar pops out.

The real beauty of the NATO is its simplicity. It's inexpensive (though fancier leather variants exist), infinitely adjustable, available in dozens of colors and patterns, and is extremely comfortable on the wrist.

Whether it's an Aston Martin, a vodka martini, or a Rolex Submariner an association with the James Bond franchise makes a product all the more desirable. And how did the most iconic Bond (Sean Connery, don't @ me ) in his most iconic movie (1964's Goldfinger) wear his Rolex? On a NATO strap, as any self-respecting British naval commander would.

The strap only features in the movie for a split-second but it was enough to cement the diver's watch/NATO combination as a classic look.

The humble NATO doesn't care about the social standing or bank balance of its owner. It looks just as good on a $40 Timex Weekender as it does on a $5,000 Omega Speedmaster . It even fits perfectly with sportier haute horlogerie pieces like the Patek Phillipe Nautilus .

As with all things watches you can spend as much or little as you like. I've tried many of the brands available on Amazon and found BluShark's Premium Nylon at around $17 to be the best balance of budget and quality. (Skip anything around the $10 mark, the nylon is thin and the buckles are poor quality.)

For those looking for something more special, Omega has launched eight new NATO straps with a handy online tool to match the strap to your timepiece. Theirs start at $180.

Weve included affiliate links in this article. Click here to learn what those are.

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Your Watch Needs a NATO Strap - Fortune

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a joint news conference with Estonia's President Kersti Kaljulaid, Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite and Latvia's President Raimonds Vejonis in Tallinn, Estonia, on Monday. Ints Kalnins / Reuters

President Trump had previously

No other president since NATO was founded in 1949 had questioned that principle until Trump, although he recently expressed support for NATO's Article 5.

Pence also stated that recent diplomatic action by Russia will not impact American commitments to the security of its NATO allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that he was

The move came in the wake of new sanctions voted through by the U.S. Congress last week which aim to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

Recent diplomatic action taken by Moscow will not deter the commitment of the United States of America to our security, the security of our allies and the security of freedom loving nations around the world, Pence said.

[The U.S.] stands firmly behind our Article 5 pledge of mutual defense and an attack on one of us is an attack on us all, he added.

Estonian president, Kersti Kaljulaid, said the presence of Pence in Tallinn underlined the credibility of Article 5.

President Dalia Grybauskait of Lithuania, meanwhile, praised the decision of the U.S. Congress to pass new sanctions against Russia, describing it as a very good message.

Eoghan Macguire reported from London.

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Vice President Mike Pence: Russian 'Aggression' Makes NATO Necessary - NBCNews.com

Russia keeps its promise and retaliates against the U.S.Just days after the White House announced President Trump will sign off on new sanctions passed in Congress. Buzz60

President Trump sits in the Oval Office on July 25, 2017.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

The U.S. military for the first time is putting together a plan to provide lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine to counter a growing Russian military menace to Ukraine and Europe.

The planning underway by the Joint Chiefs of Staff requires White House approval, which puts President Trump in a bind because it threatens to upend his hopes of improving relations with RussianPresident Vladimir Putin.

An official at the White Houses National Security Council told USA TODAY the U.S. government has not ruled out providing defensive weapons to Ukraine. The official requested anonymity because of the sensitive subject.

The issue is being debated in the White House as violence spikes in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed insurgents have stepped up attacks on Ukrainian government forces, and as Russia prepares for a large military exercise that analysts expect will put more tanks on the borders of Ukraine and NATO countries.

On Monday, Vice President Pence warned of the "specter of aggression" by Russia as he began a visit to the Baltic nation of Estonia, which worriesabout Russian threats. Estonia and two other formerSoviet republics, Latvia and Lithuania,now belong to NATO.

The proposal to arm Ukraine comes as Trumps prepares to sign new legislation that strengthenssanctions on Russia overits involvement in neighboring Ukraine, a move that prompted Putin Sunday to expel 755 American diplomats.

The logic behind arming Ukraine, which the Kremlin opposes, was endorsed this week by Trumps special representative to Ukraine, former NATO envoy Kurt Volker.

Defensive weapons, ones that would allow Ukraine to defend itself, and to take out tanks for example, would actually help" stop Russia threatening Ukraine, Volker said in a BBC interview published Tuesday.

"I'm not again predicting where we go on this. That's a matter for further discussion and decision. But I think that argument that it would be provocative to Russia or emboldening of Ukraine is just getting it backwards," he said.

Nineteen Ukrainian troops have been killed and 65 injured in Julyin shelling, sniper fire and firefights, according to the Ukraine Crisis Media Center in Kiev.

After nine Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a series of attacks on July 19,State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert blamed "so-called separatists" who she said areRussian-led and Russian-backed."

Nauert said Russias military is in Ukraine leading and advising anti-government forces, a claim Putin has repeatedly denied. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has not decidedwhether to recommend lethal aid to Ukraine, Nauert said Thursday.

Air Force Gen. Paul Selva testified before the Senate Armed Services Committeeon July 18that the Joint Chiefs of Staff and European Command are preparing a proposal to arm Ukraine.

"It will be more than just a military recommendation," Selva said. "This will be a policy choice on whether or not we're going to give the Ukrainian government the tools they need to defend themselves against what we believe to be a Russian-supported insurgency movement in the Donbass" region of eastern Ukraine.

Such planning marks a change in U.S. thinking about the conflict since it began in 2014, when President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said more weapons would provoke a Russian escalation and military buildup.

But the Russians are doing all this anyway, and now threatenother NATO countries in eastern Europe, said Phillip Karber, a former Defense Department official under President Ronald Reagan who now heads the Potomac Foundation in Vienna, Va. Theres a realization that there has to be a response, at least by the military.

Karberhas recommended in briefings on Capitol Hill and with defense and White House officials that the U.S. provideUkraine with anti-tank weapons that would blunt an armored advance by Russia. Russia has reconstituted, moved or upgraded three large military units, which are now positioned near Russias western border, opposite Ukraine and U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, Karber said.

Russia brought back the First Guards Tank Army, which was disbanded after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ending the Cold War. That unit is now manned with veteran professional soldiers rather than conscripts or reservists, and will be sent to Belarus, north of Ukraine, to take part in the military exercises thatRussia holds every few years.

The Russianmilitary recently moved the 20th Army, a combined infantry and mechanized unit, from near Moscow to near the Ukrainian border opposite the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, roughly midway between Ukraines north and south, Karber said.

And Russians 8th Army has been deployed near the Russian city of Rostov, near southeastern Ukraine. Two headquarterssubordinate to the 8th Army are stationed in insurgent-held Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, Karber said.

Russias exercises, which date back to the Soviet era during the 1970s and 1980s, were revived in 1999 by Putin when he became prime minister, Karber said.

The last exercise took place in 2013, and involved a simulated attack on a NATO country and the simulated use of nuclear weapons. Russia ordered 200 railway cars to transport tanks for the drill.

This year, Russia ordered 4,000 rail carsto move the 1st Guards Armys tanks to Septembers exercise, Karber said.

That will be the largest buildup since the Cold War and right up against the Baltics, he said, referring to former Soviet republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, now NATO members. Its a big deal.

John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who isat the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, D.C., joined Karber and former NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove ata recent event in Washington to urge arming Ukraine with defensive weapons.

If Trumps special envoy Volker wants a real shot at getting a change in this war, he has to raise the cost to the Kremlin, Herbst said. He needs to persuade the Kremlin that aggressionis not a winning option, he said.

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United States mulls arming Ukraine as Russian menace grows near NATO border - USA TODAY

WASHINGTON

Vice President Mike Pence visits three countries in Russia's neighborhood beginning Monday to signal support for them and NATO while drawing a line against aggression.

Pence's trip to Estonia, Georgia and Montenegro is viewed as a follow-up to President Donald Trump's visit to Europe earlier this month. Then, Trump used stops in Poland and Germany to try to pull off a tricky balancing act of improving ties with Moscow while also presenting the U.S. as a check against Russia's moves in the region.

Pence's mission will be encouraging those countries to continue to ally with the West and resist Russia's attempts to splinter the NATO alliance.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have previously been dispatched to try to allay the concerns of countries near Russia that the U.S. really will stand behind NATO and support the sovereignty of non-member former Soviet republics.

The concerns stem from Trump's suggestion during the campaign that the U.S. might not defend NATO allies and his apparent desire for closer relations with Russia. Trump received criticism on his first European trip for passing up the chance to affirm the NATO mutual defense commitment clause known as Article 5, which frames an attack on one as an attack on all. Trump did affirm U.S. support for Article 5 on his second trip to Europe.

The vice president is expected to deliver a message of support for U.S. trade and investment with the countries while underscoring the U.S. commitment to the security of the three nations, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters about the trip on the condition that they not be identified by name. Pence also will stress the values of freedom of speech, democracy and religious tolerance.

In Estonia, Pence is expected to highlight bilateral ties with the U.S., particularly on trade, investment and cyber issues. Pence also is expected to thank Estonian officials for their approach to "burden-sharing,'' diplomatic speak for agreeing to spend a full share of 2 percent of their GDP on defense, the administration officials said.

The vice president also is expected to underscore the U.S. commitment to NATO, which sees Russia as a security threat and offers protection to concerned member states near Russia's borders.

In Georgia, Pence is expected to highlight U.S. support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the officials said. Georgia is the only country on the trip that is not a NATO member and, like Ukraine, has seen Russian encroachment on its territory. The administration officials said the U.S. is encouraging Georgia to continue to make reforms to its judiciary and expand anti-corruption efforts.

In Montenegro, Pence will celebrate that nation as the newest NATO ally.

On Wednesday, he'll attend the Adriatic Charter Summit in Podgorica, Montenegro, to highlight the U.S. commitment to the Western Balkans and underscore the importance of good governance, political reforms and rule of law. Also expected to attend are the leaders of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

Link:
Pence to Visit Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro on NATO, Russia - Voice of America

Vice President Pence arrived in Estonia on Sunday to showcase support for NATO allies in the Baltic region and eastern Europe amid increasing concerns about Russia's influence in the region.

On behalf of @POTUS, arrived in Tallinn, Estonia with @SecondLady to meet w/ leaders of Baltic States on security & prosperity #VPinEurope pic.twitter.com/YmKsiBQyvK

The vice president will meet with Estonian Prime MinisterJri Ratas to discuss potentially installing an American anti-aircraft defense systems in the small Baltic country, which is made up of just 1.3 million people.

Earlier this month the U.S. deployed a battery of long-range anti-aircraft missiles in Lithuania.

Pence's visit comes after Russia spooked NATO allies when it sent 2,500 troops to the Latvian and Estonian borders earlier this month as a part of a military drill in the Pskov region.

The visit also precedes Russias highly anticipated Zapad 2017 exercise along with Belarus, which NATO officials expect could bring up to 100,000 troops to Baltic borders.

Belarus has reportedly invited Estonia to watch the military exercise.

Estonia, which is made up of 300,000 ethnic Russians, is seen as a future target of Russian aggression, considering it was invaded by the Soviet Union during World War Two. It became a NATO member in 2004.

The vice president is also set to make stops in Montenegro, which became a NATO member this year, and Georgia, which has long aspired to join the alliance.

Russia has attempted to counter NATO by increasing its sphere of influence in eastern Europe over the past decade.

Russia invaded Georgia in August of 2008, and annexed Crimea in 2014, which has a sizable ethnic Russian population. The move led to abloody conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in the country's eastern region.

Montengro accused the Kremlin of being involved toassassinate the country's prime minister in October of 2016 in order to prevent Montenegro from joining NATO.

The Trump administration has maintained a perplexing- sometimes tense andsometimes, according to critics, too friendly -relationship with Russia.

The White House is currently grappling with the ongoing federal probe into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

However, the White House announced on Friday the president would sign legislation implementing new sanctions on Russia, despite its efforts to water down the sanctions.

Russia has pledged to retaliate against the move by ordering the U.S. to reduce the number is diplomats in Moscow.

Pence's visit could also serve as a reassurance to NATO, given Trump's past critical rhetoric toward the alliance.

The presidenthas maintained a rocky relationship with NATO, often saying the alliance's member nations do not pay their fair share.

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Pence looks to reassure NATO Baltic allies amid Russia tensions - The Hill

Thousands of highly trained Russian seaman clutched assault rifles as gigantic submarines emerged from the water in a show of force ordered by the Russian President.

Fighter jets soared above the heads of thousands who filled the streets of Saint Petersburg to celebrate Navy Day as Mr Putin oversaw the fleet in Sevastopol.

Flames and smoke lit up the sky over the Neva River at the Kremlin sanctioned event.

The Russian Navy's towering Kovrovets minesweeper showed its might as some 50 warships and submarines were paraded in a pomp-filled display along the Neva River and in the Gulf of Finland off the country's second city of Saint Petersburg after Mr Putin ordered the navy to hold its first ever parade on such a grand scale.

The Russian President also inspected the troops and was seen flanked by defence minister Sergei Shoigu and generals as he visited the SM Kirov Military Medical Academy.

Russians celebrated Navy Day while the world looks to the Kremlin to anticipate its next military move.

The annexation of Crimea, frequent trespassing into airspace and support of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has seen sanctions heaped on the Russians.

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The Navy is not only dealing with its traditional tasks but also responding with merit to new challenges, making a significant contribution to the fight against terrorism and piracy

Vladimir Putin

But the steadfast leader, Mr Putin, has so far refused to back down to NATO nations.

Mr Putin told servicemen from his presidential cutter the world can expect Russias Navy to grow.

He said: Today much is being done to develop and modernise the Navy.

The Navy is not only dealing with its traditional tasks but also responding with merit to new challenges, making a significant contribution to the fight against terrorism and piracy.

"This holiday is celebrated in Russias every region, and, of course, especially solemnly at the bases and garrisons of the Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla."

Mr Putin said Russian history is linked with victories of its "brave Navy."

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While more than 50 warships and submarines took part in the impressive display, while elsewhere smaller parades kicked off in Russias European enclave Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea to the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and Vladivostok.

At the Syrian base of Tartus in the eastern Mediterranean six vessels were involved in a display, including the Krasnodar diesel submarine.

Moscow and Damascus in January signed a 49-year deal for Russia to expand and modernise the facility at Tartus.

Chinese warships joined Vladimir Putins navy in the Baltic Sea for war games last month and today China's Xi Jinping oversaw a huge parade of stealth fighters, nuclear missile launchers and 12,000 troops to mark the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army.

Getty Images

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A Chinese warship operates a live-fire drill during the Joint Sea 2017 in Baltic Sea

In September the Zapad games will kick off, between Russia and neighbouring Belarus, involving 12,700 servicemen.

Nato nations have been left furious over the location of the games, which they believe are taking place far too close to their own borders and could be an excuse by Moscow to practice war in the areas.

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Are you watching NATO? Putin rolls out THIS terrifying Russian armada - Express.co.uk

Exercise Noble Partner 2017 is underway and your Georgia National Guard is critically involved.

On Tuesday, July 25, 2017, three C-130 H3 cargo aircraft departed Savannah with three crews, aircraft maintainers, and members of the Georgia Army National Guard for exercises as the state of Georgia is a partner with the Republic of Georgia in preparing their troops for NATO response forces. Exercise Noble Partner is part of the National Guard State Partnership program under the Department of Defense which includes security cooperation and global engagement.

For members of the 165th Airlift Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, based out of Savannah International Airport, the mission was an essential part of helping their sister country with training their force to enhance the NATO military force. This includes training the Georgians in C-130 interoperability and cargo loading and unloading and with joint airdrop training and foreign jumper familiarization training which will include parachutists with the Georgia Army National Guard, the Georgian infantry and members of Great Britains military.

Other countries participating in Noble Partner include Armenia, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the Ukraine.

For the United States, U.S. Army Europe will lead exercise Noble Partner 2017 at Vaziani and Camp Norio training areas in the country of Georgia to support the training, progression, and eventual certification of the Republic of Georgias second light infantry company. These exercises also provide the participating nations with the opportunity to engage in realistic and challenging multi-national training environments while enhancing their interoperability for real world crisis events.

Lieutenant Colonel Jon Mims, a navigator for the 165th AW and the chief planner for the Wings participation in the exercise, is looking forward to the real-world training. This is an excellent opportunity for us to train with our partner nations in NATO in conducting exercises which may have to be utilized in the future, said Lt. Col. Mims. For both our preparedness and our partners preparedness, these exercises are the cornerstone of what we bring to NATO and helping our partner nations develop a better military structure.

According to Major Erika Wonn, Commander of the 165th Maintenance Squadron, Its an honor to work with our partner, Georgia, who has been such a valuable ally. Partnerships are a key component to what makes the National Guard so imperative to the nations warfight. Were proud to be part of our nations state partnership program with our partnership with the Republic of Georgia.

For the next several weeks, your Georgia National Guard will be preparing for the future of NATO and the world in order to protect freedom.

Lt. Col. David Simons is the Public Affairs Officer for the 165th Airlift Wing, Georgia Air National Guard.

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Georgia National Guard enhances NATO's mission with European allies - Savannah Morning News

CONSTANTA, Romania, July 28, 2017 The Danube River shore was shrouded in mist from smoke grenades as shells fired from naval guns burst in midair and legions of Romanian infantrymen, paratroopers and armored vehicles amassed on the beach. From behind them, a small contingent of U.S. Army Stryker vehicles cleared the way for the troops by raining gunfire down on the beach sands.

The event, a river crossing exercise that took place July 16 outside Bordusani, Romania, was one of dozens of combined combat-training exercises that U.S. Army Europe and the armed forces of 21 European partner nations conducted together as part of Saber Guardian 2017. The annual multinational combat-training exercise took place July 11-20 in locations across Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria and involved 25,000 troops -- 14,000 from the United States and 11,000 from Europe.

The exercise was the military's largest land-force exercise in Europe this year, said Marine Corps Col. Mark Van Skike, the chief of joint training and exercises for U.S. European Command. Saber Guardian is one of 18 exercises in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea that fall under the Eucom Joint Exercise Program.

Led by Bulgaria and the U.S., Saber Guardian was hosted by Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. 'Other participants include: Armenia, Croatia, Czech, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Realistic Training

The U.S. and European units work and train together in realistic combat scenarios that prepare them to respond in unison to any new security crisis that emerges on the continent. They practice coordinating air, land, and sea forces to launch multidomain assaults or defense operations. And they cooperate to mobilize and transport multinational forces to an area at short notice.

"This is a tremendous experience. We're getting better in interoperability and in establishing secure communications, secure fires and a common operational picture," said Army Col. Jeff Shoemaker, chief of training, readiness and exercises for U.S. Army Europe.

Deterrence is also a core component of the mission. Brig. Gen. Timothy Daugherty, deputy chief of staff for operations for USAREUR, said the United States demonstrates through these exercises that it will stand with its European partners, and that all the participating nations together show that they can be a powerful unified fighting force -- and that adversaries who see this may be much less likely to launch an attack in the first place.

"That is absolutely a viable deterrent. When an adversary sees that we can consolidate troops very quickly and relatively effectively, that is a deterrent. We're deterring them, because they know that it would be costly to attack," Daugherty said.

U.S. Army Europe and its partners conducted the first Saber Guardian exercise in 2013. It took on added importance in its organizers' eyes a year later with Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, said Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. Army Europe. European military leaders needed assurance that they and the United States could act together to prevent warfare from erupting further west into Europe's heartland, he said.

Hodges noted that NATO nations held a summit in July 2016 in Warsaw, Poland, in which they called for building a stronger "forward defense force" in Central and Eastern Europe to counteract new regional threats.

"With its illegal annexation of Crimea, Russia changed the security environment in Europe. That's why the alliance made the decision that we had to reassure our allies and deter further aggression," Hodges said.

In the meantime, the exercises can better prepare the militaries of NATO member nations if new crises emerge, Shoemaker said. But he, too, foresees Saber Guardian offering NATO some pathways forward.

"The goal is to synchronize the NATO exercise program with the USAREUR exercise program so that they complement one another," he said. "We have a number of countries that will leave Saber Guardian at a much better level of training, and certainly NATO will benefit from that. It builds the entire multinational military capability."

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US, NATO Forces Train to Deter and Defend in Saber Guardian 2017 - Department of Defense

18 mins ago Must reads/In the Press By Staff | 18 mins ago

Will Ukraine join NATO? A course for disappointment, by Steven Pifer, Brookings Institution July 25 (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2017/07/25/will-ukraine-join-nato-a-course-for-disappointment/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm _content=54625936):

Following the visit to Kyiv by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier this month, President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine would seek to meet the alliances membership criteria by 2020.

Ukraine today is involved in an undeclared, low-intensity conflict with Russia in the Donbas. That is not a conflict of Kyivs choosing, but one forced upon it by Moscow. The Kremlin has organized, led, funded, armed and otherwise supported in some cases with regular units of the Russian army violent separatism in Donetsk and Luhansk of a kind that Russia itself would never tolerate

Even if the Donbas conflict were settled, there would remain the issue of Crimea and its illegal seizure, occupation and annexation by Russia.

Until the simmering conflict in the Donbas and frozen conflict in Crimea are resolved, Ukraine has little prospect of membership. Bringing Ukraine in with the ongoing disputes would mean that NATO would face an Article 5 contingency against Russia on day one of Kyivs membership.

the Ukrainian government needs to manage expectations, not fan them. Setting membership as a goal with a fixed near-term date sets a target that will not be met. Kyiv should continue to deepen its cooperation with NATO and incorporate the reforms that it would undertake in a membership action plan in its annual action plans with the alliance. instead of pressing NATO for an early membership signal, the Ukrainian government should urge that the alliance maintain its open door policy. Kyiv cannot get in now. It wants to ensure, however, that not now does not become never.

Flurry of Kiev [sic] assassinations a new Russian front in Ukraine, by Hannah Thoburn, Hudson Institute, July 11 (https://www.hudson.org/research/ 13757-flurry-of-kiev-assassinations-a-new-russian-front-in-ukraine):

Since July 2016, when the Belarusian-turned-Ukrainian investigative journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed by a car bomb detonated in the middle of a Kyiv street, two Ukrainian army colonels have been killed by car bombs and two pro-Ukrainian Russian nationals targeted for assassination. On June 27, Maksym Shapoval died when a bomb placed in his car exploded in Kyiv. His colleague Lieutenant Colonel Oleksander Kharaberiush perished similarly in March 2017 in the southeastern city of Mariupol. Both men worked in military intelligence.

March 2017 also saw the assassination of Denis Voronenkov, a former Russian lawmaker who had absconded to Kyiv and was helping Ukrainian authorities to prepare their case against former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. He was shot down in central Kyiv despite having a bodyguard at his side.

The murders are rather an offshoot of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war has increasingly left its cozy confines 350 miles away and is slowly creeping into the calm streets of the capital. The Ukrainian authorities have been powerless to stop the trend. And that might just be the point.

It is this weakness that the perpetrators of the killings all are almost certainly done by or linked to agents of the Russian government hope to highlight.

Heres how to fight back against Russian political warfare, by Alexander Vershbow, Atlantic Council, June 21 (http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/here-s-how-to-fight-back-against-russian-political-warfare):

Three and a half years ago, Russia illegally annexed Crimea and launched its campaign to destabilize eastern Ukraine.

Russia has also engaged in political aggression against our societies, using cyberattacks, disinformation, propaganda, and influence operations (what the Soviets called active measures) to affect the outcome of elections and to undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.

Russia wants to turn back the clock to a time when Russia dominated neighboring countries through force and coercion. Using cyberattacks, disinformation, economic warfare and active measures, it aims to weaken and divide NATO and the European Union (EU), which it sees as the main obstacles to its expanded power in Europe, and to reduce their attractiveness to other European nations.

Our strategy for meeting the Russian challenge must begin with, but go beyond, bolstering our defense and deterrence against potential Russian military threats. We also need to support Russias neighbors in their efforts to build strong, resilient societies and defend their sovereignty.

Multilaterally, we should urge our NATO allies to support a bigger alliance role in countering influence operations, disinformation and active measures by Russia. defending our societies is just as important as defending our borders. Collaboration between NATO and the EU would make sense in countering propaganda and disinformation, in sharing intelligence about cyber and other asymmetric threats, and in conducting joint exercises to ensure that little green men are not able to do to our countries what they did to Ukraine.

The free world is still worth fighting for, by Daniel Fried, The Washington Post, June 14 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/ 06/14/the-free-world-is-still-worth-fighting-for/?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.324c0a 6349c5):

The free world order is now challenged by a new nationalism, which rejects on principle an open, rules-based world; prefers zero-sum bilateral relations; and loathes transnational solidarity and cosmopolitan values. The nationalist idea has power and many powerful friends in Moscow, Europe and even Washington.

What then must we, who believe in the free world, do? In the short run, we must turn back Russia aggression. We must help the Ukrainians defend themselves, maintaining and possibly intensifying sanctions while pushing for a settlement that restores Ukraine to the Ukrainians. And we must work through NATO and the European Union to resist Russian leverage, both military and energy, and to expose Russian propaganda, dirty money and election interference.

We must also challenge the new nationalism with a new patriotism. The West needs to make room for patriotism in this liberal form, bound to higher principles. And we should define the nation based on cultural, linguistic and civic, not ethno-tribal, terms.

Most important, we need to recommit to the ideals of the free world. We must make the case that our interests are best served when our values advance; that these values include the rule of law at home and a rules-based world, human rights and democracy; that our nations successes depend on the success of others; and that the nation state, and the free world itself, are not ends in themselves but earn legitimacy as they serve these higher purposes.

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NATO membership, assassinations, political warfare - The Ukrainian Weekly (press release) (subscription)

East Derry DUP MP Gregory Campbell has claimed that the real guarantor of peace in Europe since the Second World War has been the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), not the European Union (EU).

The MP, whose party was one of the few in the North to openly advocate a United Kingdom Brexit from the EU, said that to claim that the union, an outgrowth of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) trading pact, had cemented peace on the continent was to misread history.

Mr. Campbell said NATO, the western common defence alliance, which throughout the Cold War squared up against the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact satellite states in central and eastern Europe, was the real peace-keeper, not the EU.

The DUP MP said that ongoing military collaboration with the several former Warsaw Pact nations, which controversially joined NATO following the collapse of the Soviet Union, should continue.

The security of Europe in the past, the present and hopefully the future, even in the central European belt, has been thanks to NATO, said Mr. Campbell.

The DUP MP argued that we should build and strengthen our relationship with all the NATO nations and not allow the misreading of history that says the European Union cemented peace, when it was in fact NATO.

Polish-born Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski agreed with Mr. Campbell saying the late 20th centurys relative peace had nothing to do with the EU. Mr. Kawczynski said he had struggled to get this message across during the Brexit referendum campaign.

He said: In the referendum campaign in Shrewsbury, one couple came up to me and said, Im going to vote for remain because the European Union has maintained peace in Europe over the last 60 years, and I had to spend the next 15 minutes explaining very succinctly that it is nothing to do with the EU.

What has kept peace in Europe in our time, thank God, has been that collective defence mechanism - anchored, I have to say, by support from the Americans and the Canadians.

Mr. Kawczynski added: We must trumpet the importance of NATO. We must also work with our Polish friends to ensure that they take the lead within the European Union in ensuring that, although the United Kingdom is pulling out of the EU, NATO continues to be supreme as the sole common defence umbrella for the whole continent.

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NATO was the real guarantor of peace in Europe, not the EU: Campbell - Derry Journal