Support Ukraine's Defense Through Military Assistance, NATO Secretary General: President Putin's War Destroys Peace And Creates A Security Crisis

JAKARTA - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday branded Russia the biggest 'direct threat' to Western security after its invasion of Ukraine, approved a plan to modernize beleaguered Kyiv armed forces, saying it fully supports Ukraine's heroic defence.

At a summit dominated by the invasion and the resulting geopolitical upheaval, NATO also invited Sweden and Finland to join and pledged a sevenfold increase from 2023, in combat troops on high alert along its eastern flank against any future Russian attack.

In reaction, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would respond favorably if NATO establishes infrastructure in Finland and Sweden, once they join the US-led military alliance.

President Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying he could not rule out the tensions that would arise in Moscow's relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining NATO.

"President Putin's war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since World War Two," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

"NATO has responded with strength and unity," he stressed.

On the deteriorating relationship with Russia since the invasion, a NATO communique called Russia the "most significant and direct threat to allied security", having previously classified it as a "strategic partner".

NATO issues a new Strategic Concept document, the first since 2010, which says "a strong independent Ukraine is essential to the stability of the Euro-Atlantic region".

To that end, NATO agreed to a long-term financial and military aid package to modernize much of Ukraine's Soviet-era military.

"We stand in full solidarity with the government and people of Ukraine in the heroic defense of their country," reads the communique.

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has once again told NATO that Ukrainian forces need more weapons and money urgently, to erode Russia's huge advantage in artillery and missile firepower.

In a video link with the summit, President Zelensky said Ukraine needs $5 billion a month for its defense and protection.

"This is not a war waged by Russia only against Ukraine. This is a war for the right to dictate conditions in Europe - for what the future world order will look like," he said.

Separately, US President Joe Biden announced more ground, naval and air deployments across Europe from Spain in the west to Romania and Poland bordering Ukraine.

This includes a permanent army base with accompanying battalion in Poland, the US military's first full-time deployment on NATO's eastern fringes.

Britain said it would provide an additional 1 billion pounds (1.2 billion dollars) of military support to Ukraine, including air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and new electronic warfare equipment.

NATO's invitation to Sweden and Finland to join the alliance marked one of the most important changes in European security in decades when Helsinki and Stockholm dropped traditions of neutrality in response to the Russian invasion.