NATO Ceases Cooperation With Russia Amid Threats to Ukraine

Tensions are high along
Ukraine’s eastern border as Russian troop movements hint at further
military action. NATO, of which the U.S. is the largest
supplier of both military personnel and funding, is now warning
that Russia could stage an attack on Ukraine within three days. The
alliance has responded to the perceived threat by suspending
cooperation with Russia.

Reuters’ Adrian Croft
reports:

Calling the situation “incredibly concerning”, NATO’s supreme
allied commander in Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip
Breedlove, said NATO had spotted signs of movement by a very small
part of the Russian force overnight but had no indication that this
was part of a withdrawal to barracks.

[…]

The Russian force has aircraft and helicopter support as well as
field hospitals and electronic warfare capabilities—”the entire
suite that would be required to successfully have an incursion into
Ukraine, should the decision be made,” Breedlove said.

“We think it is ready to go and we think it could accomplish its
objectives in between three and five days if directed to make the
actions.”

Estimates on the number of troops have been shaky. Ukrainian
officials last week
suggested there could be as many as 100,000 gearing up for an
invasion. A different Reuters article
noted earlier this week that the number appeared to be
dropping, but explained that because “conscripts made up a large
part of the Russian army … ‘a certain number of conscripts could be
stood down and swapped for others.'” Current estimates put it at
40,000.

Because of Russia’s persistent aggression, NATO Secretary
General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
announced yesterday:

We are suspending all practical cooperation with Russia,
military and civilian. In the NATO-Russia Council, the
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, and the Partnership for Peace.
At the same time we keep our diplomatic lines of communication
open, and we are ready for ambassadorial or ministerial meetings in
the NATO-Russia Council.

What will this cessation of cooperation look like? Although the
organization hasn’t divulged a specific plan, “the measures could
include sending NATO soldiers and equipment to Eastern European
allies, holding more exercises, ensuring NATO’s rapid-reaction
force could deploy more quickly, and reviewing NATO’s military
plans,”
explains Croft in another article.

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