What is NATO and how has it responded to Russia's invasion?

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that his country

cannot join NATO in the near future - despite its long-standing hope to do so.
NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the security bloc remained united in
its support of Ukraine. Member states including Britain are already sending weapons to
help it fight the Russian invasion
However, the alliance has rejected calls to enforce a "no-fly zone", saying it could
lead to direct conflict with Russia.
Russia has put its nuclear forces on "special alert" to counter what it calls NATO's
aggression.
What is NATO?
NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - is a military alliance formed in
1949 by 12 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK and France.
Members agree to come to one another's aid in the event of an armed attack against
any one member state.
Its aim was originally to counter the threat of post-war Russian expansion in
Europe.
In 1955 Soviet Russia responded to NATO by creating its own military alliance of
eastern European communist countries, called the Warsaw Pact.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a number of former Warsaw
Pact countries switched sides and became NATO members. The alliance now has 30
members.

Why isn't Ukraine a NATO member?

NATO originally offered Ukraine eventual membership back in 2008, and after
Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine made joining NATO a priority.
But this hasn't happened, mainly because of Russia's long-standing opposition to
such a move.
Russia fears NATO is encroaching on its territory by taking on new members in
eastern Europe, and that admitting Ukraine would bring NATO forces into its backyard.
Ukraine's President Zelensky has now accepted his country cannot join NATO at
present, saying: "It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of NATO. We understand
this."
The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the same point, saying, "There is no
way Ukraine is going to join NATO any time soon".
One of Russia's demands before the invasion was that Ukraine should never be
allowed to join - something the alliance had refused to support.
 China joins Russia in opposing NATO expansion
Why isn't NATO sending troops to Ukraine?
Ukraine is not a member of NATO, so the alliance is not obliged to come to the
country's defence.
NATO countries have also made it plain that if their troops were to confront
Russian forces in Ukraine, it could lead to an all-out conflict between Russia and the
west.
 UK troops will not fight against Russia - Wallace
Why won't NATO impose a no-fly zone?
NATO has rejected imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, to deny Russia air
superiority and protect civilians.
It wants to avoid conflict between Russian and its air forces.
NATO planes might need to fire anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) at radar
installations on Russian territory.
Russia could use this as a reason to declare war on NATO countries.
How is the West helping Ukraine?
Several NATO nations have been sending weapons to Ukraine to help its defend
itself against Russia.
The US has been the biggest supplier of military equipment. It initially sent $200m
(£152m) and then a further $350m (£267m) of weapons. This included hand-held
Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and body armour.
The US has now expanded this and announced a $1bn (£760m) security aid
package. This will include the deployment of more sophisticated longer-range weapons
and drones to Ukraine,
It has also allowed other NATO countries to supply Ukraine with US-made
weapons.

The EU has said it will spend up to 450m euros (£376m) to fund the supply of
weapons to Ukraine. It is the first time in its history that the EU has helped provide
arms for a warzone.
Germany, too, has dropped its long-standing restrictions on supplying weapons
to a combat area.
Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic
and Slovakia are among those NATO members which are also sending military
equipment - including anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition, fuel,
helmets, body armour and rations.

How many troops does NATO have in Eastern Europe?

NATO already has troops stretching from the Baltic republics in the north to
Romania in the south and now deploying more forces.
They were stationed there in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and are
designed to act as a "tripwire" in case of a Russian attack.
NATO is now sending elements of its 40,000-strong Response Force to Eastern
European countries bordering Russia and Ukraine.
It has 100 fighter jets on high alert and 120 ships, including three carrier groups,
patrolling the seas from the far north to the eastern Mediterranean.
"We will defend every ally and every inch of NATO territory," said alliance
secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg
President Putin of Russia has put the country's nuclear forces onto "special
alert" because of "aggressive statements" by the West.
The announcement does not mean Russia intends to use the weapons.
The US has committed to sending more troops to Europe, but President Biden said
they will not be fighting in Ukraine itself.
The extra troops will join the four multinational battlegroups NATO has in
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and its multinational brigade in Romania.

UK troops will not fight against Russia says Wallace

British troops will not be sent to Ukraine to fight Russia, Defence Secretary
Ben Wallace has confirmed.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Wallace said Ukraine would instead be supported to
"fight every street with every piece of equipment we can get to them".
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday morning and its forces have
now advanced on the capital Kyiv.
Mr Wallace said Russia failed in its main objectives on the first day of its
offensive, losing 450 of its troops.
Over the past month, UK government ministers have repeatedly stressed that UK
troops would be unlikely to take part in action within Ukraine.
Mr Wallace explained that sending UK troops to fight in Ukraine - an ally of the
UK but not a member of the NATO military alliance it is part of - would trigger a
European war.
 What is NATO and how is it responding to the Ukraine crisis?
He said the UK had "done the next best thing, which is to train more than 20,000
Ukrainians, provided them with lethal capabilities, which they are using right now".
Since the invasion began in the early hours of Thursday, 194 Ukrainians -
including 57 civilians - have been killed, Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
on Friday morning, pledging more support in coming days.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine "needs the support of partners more than ever" and
called for stronger sanctions.

No-fly zone: What it means and why the West won't act

"The Ukrainian people are desperately asking for the West to protect our sky.
We are asking for a no-fly zone."
This was the impassioned request from a Ukrainian woman who confronted UK
Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a news conference on Tuesday.
"Ukrainian women and Ukrainian children are in deep fear because of bombs and
missiles which are coming from the sky," Daria Kaleniuk said.
But despite Russian strikes hitting residential areas of Ukraine, and a mounting
civilian death toll, there is little sign that the West will implement a no-fly zone. Here's
why.
 What are no-fly zones?
A no-fly zone refers to any region of airspace where it has been established that
certain aircraft cannot fly.
It can be used to protect sensitive areas, such as royal residences, or brought in
temporarily over sporting events and large gatherings.
In a military context, a no-fly zone is designed to stop aircraft from entering
banned airspace, usually to prevent attacks or surveillance.
It has to be enforced by military means.
That could be surveillance, pre-emptive strikes against defensive systems or
bringing down aircraft which enter the restricted area.
A no-fly zone over Ukraine would mean that military forces - specifically NATO
forces - would engage directly with any Russian planes spotted in those skies and shoot
at them if necessary.

Why won't the West introduce one in Ukraine?

NATO forces engaging with Russian aircraft or equipment risks a rapid escalation.
"You don't just say 'that's a no-fly zone'. You have to enforce a no-fly zone,"
former US air force general Philip Breedlove told Foreign Policy magazine.
The general, who served as NATO's supreme allied commander from 2013 to
2016, said that while he supports calls for a no-fly zone in Ukraine, it's a very serious
decision to take.
"It's tantamount to war. If we're going to declare a no-fly zone, we have to take
down the enemy's capability to fire into and affect our no-fly zone."
UK MP Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defence Committee, has backed the idea
of a partial or total no-fly zone, calling for NATO to intervene due to civilian deaths and
alleged war crimes.
But NATO's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg ruled out involvement by the
organisation, telling NBC on Monday: "We have no intention of moving into Ukraine,
either on the ground or in the air."
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has made it clear that Britain would not help
enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine because fighting Russian jets would trigger a "war
across Europe".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I won't trigger a European
war, but what I will do is help Ukraine fight every street with every piece of equipment
we can get to them, and we will support them."
And the US has also ruled it out, for similar reasons.
The extra risk with any escalation in a conflict with Russia is the spectre of nuclear
weapons. That fear came into focus after Russian President Vladimir Putin's
announcement that he had put Russia's nuclear forces on "special" alert.
Many have interpreted his move primarily as a form of public signalling, rather
than indicating a real intent to use such weapons.
But even the faintest hint of a world war which could become a nuclear war means,
in spite of terrible scenes of civilians under attack, the likelihood of any no-fly zone in
Ukraine is slim to none.
 Have no-fly zones been used before?
After the first Gulf War in 1991 the US and coalition partners established two no-
fly zones in Iraq to prevent attacks against some ethnic and religious groups. This was
done without United Nations backing.
In 1992 during the Balkans conflict, the UN passed a resolution which banned
unauthorized military flights in Bosnian airspace.
The UN Security Council also approved a no-fly zone as part of the 2011
military intervention in Libya.
The Bosnian and Libya zones were enforced by NATO forces.