"It doesn't matter what country these forces are from. In any case, we need 1.5 million troops if we are not in NATO," Volodymyr Zelensky said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia plans to deploy 15 divisions, totaling 100,000 to 150,000 troops, primarily in Belarus.
"My position is the NATO position," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on Feb. 13. "This was discussed at the summit that we had last year in Washington, where it was agreed amongst all NATO members that there should be an irreversible path of Ukraine to NATO membership."
Key developments on Feb. 13: * Russia preparing delegation for U.S. talks on war with Ukraine, consider Minsk "experience," Kremlin says * Russia's largest steel mill reportedly targeted by "massive" Ukrainian drone strike * NATO "taking over" Ukraine's security assistance, military training, Umerov says * Ukrainian drones again hit oil pumping station in
The remarks come amid ongoing uncertainty over U.S. aid commitments to Ukraine.
"We'll meet in Saudi Arabia," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House following his conversation with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Feb. 12 at the Ramstein summit that it is unrealistic to expect that Ukraine can restore its 2014 borders in any negotiations with Moscow on ending its war.
Ukraine is not giving up on its NATO aspirations, but if denied an invitation to the alliance, it "must build NATO on its territory" by strengthening the military, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Economist in an interview published on Feb. 12.
"If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin attacks NATO, the reaction will be devastating. He will lose," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the first time on Feb. 12 during the Ramstein-format meeting in Brussels.
"Our commitment is clear: NATO must be a stronger, more lethal force—not a diplomatic club. Time for allies to meet the moment," U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Russia may find the opportunity to launch a large-scale war on Europe within five years, if Moscow "perceives NATO as militarily weakened or politically divided," an unclassified intelligence assessment from the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS) warned.
The European Union and NATO must strengthen cooperation to protect critical energy infrastructure from attacks, which pose a growing threat to European stability. The Kremlin, with its history of weaponizing energy, remains a prime suspect. NATO must properly secure the Baltic Sea — the so-called NATO lake. The Baltic states achieved
The damage comes amid a series of recent disruptions to undersea telecom and power cables in the Baltic Sea. Western experts and officials have accused Russia of engaging in hybrid warfare against countries supporting Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Military Committee Chair Giuseppe Cavo Dragone discussed enhancing coordination of military aid under the Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine framework, a command plan focused on allocating and managing military support.
President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine's NATO accession could be delayed "for years or decades," raising the question of how the country would defend itself.
"We must do all that we can to support Ukraine's defense," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Feb. 3. Starmer pledged to ramp up pressure on Russia in order to "crush Putin's war machine."
A U.S. Justice Department investigation found that Russia funneled billions of dollars through American banks to Turkey in 2022, using the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project as cover to evade sanctions, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
NATO Chief Mark Rutte also insisted Ukraine was not losing the war against Russia.
"It will be a signal that it is not for Russia to decide who should be in NATO and who should not, but for the United States of America to decide. I think this is a great victory for Trump."
Polish and other allied aircraft were quickly mobilized on Feb. 1 in response to a large-scale missile attack by Russia on western Ukraine, Poland's Armed Forces reported on X.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Gitanas Nauseda warned that a peace settlement without proper deterrents would allow Russia to consolidate its forces and prepare for further military action.
Half of Poles believe Ukraine should not join NATO or the EU until the issue of exhuming Volyn massacre victims is resolved, according to a new poll published on Jan. 30.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, concerns over the security of energy and communication infrastructure in the Baltic Sea intensified. Initially, focus was placed on the threat of hybrid attacks from Russia. However, it became evident that Russian military vessels and so-called "research" ships were actively mapping the
"Allies are on track to deliver on the pledge made at the Washington summit," a NATO press statement said following a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on Jan. 29.
In times of war, the fundamental questions of survival, morality, and identity not only dominate the discourse but also expose the fissures in global political ideologies. Amid the clamor of media narratives and entrenched partisan frameworks, a few voices manage to rise above the fray, offering incisive critiques and grappling
"It was necessary to exchange (nuclear arms) for real security guarantees, and at the time, that was only NATO. And to be honest, today, it is only NATO," President Zelensky said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Foglio.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys reportedly described the shift as part of a "new era. " Vilnius committed to spending between 5% and 6% of its GDP on defense annually until at least 2030. Estonia followed suit, pledging to raise defense spending from 3.7% of GDP to 5%.
Trump's territorial ambitions and disregard for international norms are "serious, and potentially very dangerous," a senior European Official told the Financial Times.
The State Department described arms sales and transfers as "important U.S. foreign policy tools with potential long-term implications for regional and global security."
The response comes after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko criticized NATO's 2008 Bucharest Summit declaration, calling it "catastrophic for European security."
Moscow sees a ban on Ukraine’s entry to NATO as a key condition in resolving the Russia-Ukraine war, the pro-Kremlin news agency Interfax reported on Jan. 24, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.
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