Russia-Ukraine war: NATO Defence Ministers to hold 'extraordinary' meet on March 16

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defence Ministers will convene for an “extraordinary” virtual meet on March 16. In an official statement published on Wednesday, NATO said that a meeting of North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Defence Ministers will take place next Wednesday through a video link. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will be chairing the meeting. 

The NATO Defence ministers’ meet follows a meet among NATO Foreign Ministers which took place on March 4 to address the escalating crisis in Ukraine. Apart from foreign ministers of NATO member nations, the meeting included counterparts from Finland, Sweden and the European Union High Representative. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed his counterparts through a video message describing the humanitarian crisis in the country. 

The NATO Foreign ministers “condemned Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and expressed solidarity and support for the courage of the Ukrainian people and armed forces. They addressed NATO’s immediate response to the crisis.”

“In addition to the thousands more troops that Allies have already sent to the eastern part of the Alliance, NATO is deploying its Response Force for the first time, it has over 130 jets at high alert and over 200 ships from the High North to the Mediterranean,” the official statement after the NATO FM’s meet further said.

‘This is Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis’: NATO chief

During his visit to Latvia, NATO chief Stoltenberg had discussed Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine as well as its humanitarian impact with Latvian President Eglis Levits. Stoltenberg noted, “This is Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II”. He also hailed the NATO allies for supporting Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia while enhancing the alliance’s presence in the east. 

Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has claimed that Russian forces have lost over 12,000 personnel along with 317 tanks and around 120 artillery systems. Earlier, Russian forces also killed the mayor of Gostomel, a town near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as they continue to capture major cities in the neighbouring country. 

(Image: AP)