Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg warns peace cannot be taken for granted
- Defense Secretary announces that Britain will supply thousands of drones to Ukraine
The head of NATO warned that peace cannot be taken for granted as defense ministers met yesterday to discuss the growing threat from Russia.
Jens Stoltenberg’s chastening words came as fears grew over the Kremlin’s plans to deploy an anti-satellite weapon with nuclear capabilities into space.
US officials have been shown “very worrying” evidence that Moscow is developing capabilities to disable global communications.
The revelations came as Stoltenberg discussed the “deteriorating security environment” with the defense ministers of the alliance states in Brussels.
He said: “We can never take peace for granted, but we see no immediate military threat against the alliance.
The head of NATO warned that peace cannot be taken for granted amid a growing threat from Russia
Fears are growing over the Kremlin’s plans to place an anti-satellite weapon with nuclear capabilities in space
“NATO continues to ensure that there is no room for miscalculations in Moscow about our willingness to protect all allies.
“I am confident that NATO will remain the strongest and most successful alliance in history.”
Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, who attended the summit, announced that Britain will supply thousands of drones to Ukraine – at a cost of £200 million and in partnership with Latvia.
The small, unmanned ships can be used for mine clearance, surveillance and destroying enemy ships. The Ukrainian military released footage earlier this week showing how a naval drone was used to destroy a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea.
Mr Shapps said: ‘Together we will give Ukraine the capabilities it needs to defend itself and win this war, to ensure Putin fails in his illegal and barbaric ambitions.’
Meanwhile, Mike Turner, the Republican head of the intelligence committee in the US House of Representatives, urged the Biden administration to release the information it had on Russia’s anti-satellite weapons.
Firefighters are working to extinguish a fire at an oil depot in the Kursk region of Ukraine
He said the weapons posed a serious threat to national security because they would pose a major danger to US satellites that transmit billions of bytes of data every hour.
NATO has said Ukraine could join but has yet to confirm when and has rejected a request for ‘fast-track’ membership in September 2022.
The regime in Moscow strongly opposes the idea of Ukraine joining the alliance, fearing it would bring its forces too close to its own territory.
NATO has not sent weapons directly to Ukraine, but several member states have, including Britain, the US and Turkey.