NATO works to help Ukraine

NATO works to help Ukraine

The Alliance seeks to stabilise the situation, reassure Ukraine and allies.

A US Air Force F-15C Eagle is seen at the airfield near Siauliai Zuokiniai, Lithuania, on March 6th. The US sent six additional F-15 fighter jets to step up NATO's air patrols over the Baltic states, plus 12 F-16 fighter jets to Poland to augment forces there, the AP reported. [AFP]

NATO is committed to assisting Ukraine in managing its on-going crisis in Crimea, implementing democratic principles and maintaining peace and stability in the region.

"In response to the current crisis, the Alliance will step up its partnership co-operation through the NATO-Ukraine commission to support democratic reforms," Jay Janzen, chief of media operations at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in NATO, told SETimes.

Janzen said the Alliance will bolster ties with Ukraine's political and military leadership, strengthen efforts to build the country's military capacity and organise additional joint military training. It will also include Ukraine in its multi-national projects aimed at developing military capabilities, he said.

Ukrainian officials on Wednesday (March 12th) accused Russia of a large military build-up on the border that raises the spectre of invasion, but Russian officials denied it, The Associated Press reported. President Vladimir Putin has promised that Moscow will "use all means" to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, and the Russian parliament has given Putin permission to use the Russian military in Ukraine.

NATO this week agreed to deploy airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS) in Poland and Romania to monitor the situation in Ukraine and the region, including...