DefenceTalkRussia said emphatically on Tuesday it did not want Ukraine to become a NATO member, describing such a possibility as an “unprecedented challenge to European security”. “Ukraine in NATO would be an unprecedented challenge to European security, the biggest since the collapse of the Berlin Wall,” said Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s envoy to the European Union. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-in-nato-would-be-unprecedented-challenge-russia-60564/

DefenceTalkThe Alliance’s 28 leaders at their Wales Summit on Friday (5 September 2014) agreed on a Readiness Action Plan to strengthen NATO’s collective defence and to ensure the Alliance is ready to deal with any challenge. “This is a demonstration of our solidarity and resolve,” said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The Secretary General […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-leaders-take-decisions-to-ensure-robust-alliance-60543/

DefenceTalkHer Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto will work with vessels from several partner nations in the Black Sea as part of Operation REASSURANCE from September 6-27. In the wake of Russia’s aggression in Central and Eastern Europe, these training exercises and maritime situational awareness operations will enhance maritime security in the Black Sea. QUICK FACTS […]https://www.defencetalk.com/canada-sends-frigate-to-black-sea-60534/

DefenceTalkFrance suspended Wednesday the delivery of the first of two Mistral-class warships to Russia “until November” after fierce criticism from its allies given the crisis in Ukraine. Paris agreed in 2011 to build and sell the two advanced helicopter assault ships to Russia for a total of 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion), with the first […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-suspends-delivery-of-warship-to-russia-over-ukraine-60529/

DefenceTalkRomania has given the green light to NATO to base fighters there as the crisis in neighboring Ukraine deepens, its president said Wednesday. “These planes will be part of the NATO integrated defence system alongside the Romanian air force,” Traian Basescu said after a meeting of the country’s defence council. “As many as 200 pilots, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/romania-gives-green-light-to-nato-fighter-force-60527/

DefenceTalkThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is meeting this Thursday and Friday to go over ways to offer better protection in Eastern Europe. The military alliance is considering the creation of a rapid reaction force. This summit will probably be called “historic,” top NATO diplomats speculated as they prepared for the two-day meeting in Wales. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-looking-to-step-up-protection-in-eastern-europe-60519/

DefenceTalkThe United States will send about 200 troops to take part in a US-led annual exercise in Ukraine later this month, the Pentagon said Wednesday, in a show of solidarity with Kiev. The presence of 200 soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade will mark the first deployment of US ground troops to Ukraine since the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-sending-200-troops-for-drills-in-ukraine-pentagon-60525/

DefenceTalkThe Russian troops amassed along the Ukrainian border have evolved to an exceptionally capable force, Defense Department spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren told Pentagon reporters today. While NATO estimates the number of Russian troops inside Ukraine number between 1,000 and 2,000, a significantly larger force is massed at the Russia-Ukraine border, Warren said. “We are […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-notes-exceptionally-capable-russian-force-60515/

DefenceTalkThe Ukraine crisis is forcing NATO back to the basics of collective defence in Europe as Russia seeks to restore influence in its Soviet era backyard, analysts and officials said. NATO leaders meeting Thursday and Friday in Wales must now ensure the alliance can react quickly and credibly after years spent well beyond its original […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-crisis-forces-nato-back-to-basics-in-europe-60481/

DefenceTalkUkrainian forces ceded a strategic eastern airport to pro-Russian insurgents on Monday as the government in Kiev accused Moscow of launching a “great war” that could claim tens of thousands of lives. The sense of foreboding in Kiev came as European-mediated talks over the fast-escalating crisis opened in the Belarussian capital Minsk behind closed doors, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/kiev-warns-of-great-war-with-russia-as-its-forces-retreat-60479/