The NATO military alliance will hold an emergency virtual summit Friday to coordinate its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while issuing new orders giving NATO commanders greater freedom to redeploy troops quickly to Eastern Europe.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels that Europe woke up Thursday to a “new reality, a new Europe after the invasion we saw today.”
While NATO has been beefing up forces in Poland and other member-states bordering on the crisis zone, Mr. Stoltenberg again affirmed that no NATO troops are in Ukraine and the alliance will not get directly involved in the fighting.
“We urge Russia in the strongest terms to turn back from the path of violence and aggression it has chosen,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “Russia’s leaders must bear full responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Russia will pay a very heavy economic and political price.”
Mr. Putin has cited NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe and its offer of eventual membership for Ukraine as a prime cause for his decision to invade. But NATO officials say Russia’s slow-building aggression has only reinforced the alliance’s unity.
Notably, Mr. Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden, two non-NATO members that have been sharply critical of Mr. Putin’s military build-up, have been invited to participate in Friday’s summit.
Mr. Stoltenberg spoke after private discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She said the European Union is preparing its own package of sanctions to punish Moscow for its decision to invade.
“These sanctions will suppress Russia’s economic growth, increase the borrowing costs, raise inflation, intensify capital outflow and gradually erode its industrial basis,” Ms. von der Leyen told reporters in a briefing. “Our measures will weaken Russia’s technological position in key areas from which the elite makes most of their money — this ranges from high-tech components to cutting-edge software.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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