In echoes of Cold War, NATO freezes relations with Moscow and eyes military deployments and boosting defence spending to deter Russian aggression
Western leaders are denouncing advances by Russian troops and equipment into Ukraine, calling it a dangerous escalation of the ongoing conflict, in turn prompting a dark warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin – don’t mess with us.
NATO said it had satellite images showing a convoy of Russian self-propelled artillery units taking up firing positions in Ukrainian town Krasnodon, near the Russian border.
“Despite Moscow’s hollow denials, it is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday.
“This is a blatant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It defies all diplomatic efforts for a peaceful solution.”
NATO said it also has evidence of Russia supplying advanced weapons such as air defence systems, artillery, tanks and armoured personnel carriers being transferred to separatist forces.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird this week called the Russian moves into Ukraine an “active invasion.”
He said there must be further repercussions for this “blatant act of aggression,” on top of the economic sanctions Canada has already imposed.
“Canada stands ready with its international partners to take further measures to isolate the Putin regime,” Baird said.
But Putin declared Friday that his nation would repel any aggression, noting its nuclear arsenal and warning that Russia’s partners “should understand it is best not to mess with us.”
According to a foreign news outfit, Putin denied Russia’s involvement in any large-scale conflicts.
“But naturally, we should always be ready to repel any aggression towards Russia.”
“Thank God, I think no one is thinking of unleashing a large-scale conflict with Russia. I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers,” the news agency quoted Putin.
NATO LEADERS LIKELY TO BOOST DEFENCE SPENDING:
The escalation in tensions comes as leaders of the military alliance, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper prepare to meet in Wales.
They will have to face some tough and costly choices, like whether to commit troops to eastern Europe and ramp up defence spending in response to Russian aggression.
A quarter century after the fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in an era of rapprochement between East and West, NATO nations find themselves staring down an old and familiar foe.
Yet decades of detente have left NATO ill-prepared to counter Russian aggression, the very threat it was created to face.
In the thawing of the Cold War, members of the military alliance dropped their guard, cut defence budgets and along the way lost their readiness, even their willingness, to confront their one-time nemesis.
In recent months, experts have warned that the NATO of 2014 is poorly prepared to counter Russian military moves and that urgent action is needed.
Over the last five years, Russia has boosted its defence spending by 50 per cent while NATO nations have cut their military budgets by 20 per cent, even up to 40 per cent, according to NATO.
Canada has been part of that trend.
After years of increases, the defence budget was cut between 2011 and 2014 as part of the government’s overall belt-tightening. According to a briefing document prepared for Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, those cuts have totalled $3 billion since 2012-13, prompting defence officials to warn of “challenges” trying to balance department priorities with their allotted budget.
NATO figures show Canada spends 1 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence. That puts Canada near the bottom of the 28 NATO nations and below the 2 per cent benchmark that NATO is encouraging its member states to adopt.
“The most important thing NATO can do is demonstrate that it’s serious about defending the security of all of its members and it will do so at all costs,” said University of Ottawa academic Roland Paris.
Paris was part of an expert panel that presented recommendations to NATO leadership in June. Their report concluded the transatlantic community faces risks that are “unprecedented” since 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down.
“NATO should adopt a more robust and coherent defensive stance designed to deter any opportunistic extension of Russian actions in other European countries,” the report said.
It urged NATO to step up its readiness by bolstering its response force, conduct more exercises, and deploy air, ground and naval units to the alliance’s eastern nations for “as long as situation requires.”
And it called on NATO nations to collectively reverse the decline in defence spending.
NATO is likely to opt for the middle ground by reinforcing a regional base in Szczecin, Poland, with additional personnel and equipment to give it an improved ability to respond to threats.
“The focus is on the ability to respond to crises and threats, not the permanent basing of combat troops in eastern Europe,” said a military source familiar with the situation.
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