Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has announced a further strengthening of the Alliance’s eastern flank and has ruled out the deployment of ground or air troops in Ukraine. He spoke at the meeting of the defense ministers of the member countries, which was also attended by the Romanian Defense Minister Vasile Dîncu. They decided to change NATO’s long term posture in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Stoltenberg explained that the change was necessary since the whole security situation in Europe had changed and urged the Allies to invest at least 2% of the gross domestic product in defense. He warned that Russia’s willingness to use force should not be underestimated.
