WASHINGTON( Reuters)-The U.S. Navy dock landing ship Gunston Hall left port on Wednesday to mark the first movement for the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, officials said. WHAT IS HAPPENINGSome 90, 000 troops from the United States and fellow NATO allied nations are due to join the Steadfast Defender 2024 drills that will run through May. More than 50 ships from aircraft carriers to destroyers will take part, as well as more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters and drones and at least 1,

BRUSSELS: Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said that the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests. The official applications, handed over by Finland and Sweden’s ambassadors to Nato, set a security clock ticking.... Russia, whose war on Ukraine spurred them to join the military organisation, has warned that it wouldn’t welcome such a move, and co

A prominent Russian state television presenter has claimed World War III has already begun due to western arms support for Ukraine. Rossiya 1 presenter Olga Skabeyeva said Russia's so-called special military operation in Ukraine was over and “ a real war has started, World War III ”.... She added that Moscow now had to expand its goal of “ demilitarisation ” to cover Nato countries.On Monday’s edition of her programme 60 Minutes, Ms Skabeyeva said: “ It's time to admit, perhaps, that Russia's s

MOSCOW( Reuters)-Russia and Belarus formally opened vast joint military drills on Thursday, a week-long exercise across the territory of both countries and in the Baltic Sea that has alarmed some NATO countries.... Top military leaders from the two countries attended the opening ceremony of the war games, called" Zapad-2021", in western Russia where flags were raised and speeches given.... The Russian defence ministry said up to 200, 000 military personnel, some 80 aircraft and helicopters, up

The Ukraine conflict may well pave the way for a larger scale Russia-NATO confrontation. While hard to fathom and with everything suggesting that the scenario remains quite unlikely, it relies on nuclear deterrence as its main pillar.

The way to avoid a last resort is to provide Ukraine with the ammunition and other capabilities it needs." If you send NATO troops to Ukraine in a combat role, that means war with Russia....

Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK has said the country could consider dropping its ambition to join Nato to avoid war with Russia Vadym Prystaiko told BBC Radio 5 that the country would, due to threats and blackmail, consider “ serious concessions ” including removing the goal of joining the Nato alliance from the Ukrainian constitution.It comes as armed forces minister James Heappey warned against extending Nato’s “ collective security ” to a non-member and Boris Johnson is due to join last-ditch

France sends new missiles to Ukraine French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that his country will deliver long-range" Scalp" missiles to Ukraine – and a French government source has confirmed the weapons have already been sent." The first missiles were delivered at the same time as our president announced it," the source said on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Vilnius." We have decided to deliver new deep-strike missiles to Ukraine," said Macron on his arrival at the event." I

The potential for Russia to decide to escalate the ongoing war in Ukraine by attacking a U.S.or allied target is a significant concern.... All RAND Perspectives undergo peer review to ensure high standards for quality and objectivity. This document and trademark( s) contained herein are protected by law.... This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only....

Denmark is sending a war ship to the Baltic Sea and is set to deploy four F-16 fighter jets to Lithuania in support of Nato’s long-standing air-policing mission in the region.... Spain is sending ships to join Nato naval forces and is considering sending fighter jets to Bulgaria.... British prime minister Boris Johnson, who is fighting to save his political life, warned Russian leader Vladmir Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would be “ disastrous ”, a “ painful, violent and bloody business ”