Russia-Ukraine war: NATO likely to consider sending 'peacekeeping' mission to Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy-led government’s proposal to send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine is expected to be considered at the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit next week, according to Nexta TV. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had announced on Tuesday that he has "convened an extraordinary meeting of Allied Heads of State and Government on 24 March 2022 at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium."

Earlier, on Wednesday, he said that the alliance was looking substantially to bolster forces on its eastern flank after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started on February 24. However, he made it evident that NATO will not be sending any troops to the war-ravaged nation. 

NATO member Poland on Tuesday had suggested that the defence alliance should deploy an armed “peace mission” in Ukraine in a bid to provide the much-needed humanitarian aid amid Russian military aggression. Following a meeting of NATO defence ministers, Stoltenberg had said in a press conference, “We support peace efforts, we call on Russia, on President (Vladimir) Putin to withdraw its forces, but we have no plans of deploying NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine”.

NATO has previously rejected to intervene in the conflict in Ukraine

Citing that Ukraine is still not a NATO member, NATO has repeatedly rebuffed the calls from Zelenskyy’s government to intervene in the conflict taking place in the former Soviet Union nation, which is strongly seeking a European Union (EU) membership. Additionally, despite repeated calls from Zelenskyy for NATO to impose a ‘no fly’ zone in Ukraine and protect ‘Ukrainian skies’, the alliance has said that its direct involvement could further spark a confrontation with Russia. 

According to Stoltenberg, NATO’s involvement could fuel the Russia-Ukraine war as a nuclear war. But, the NATO allies have continued to send in troops to Ukraine. Most recently, US President Joe Biden not only admitted that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is a “war criminal” but also announced an additional $800 million in military assistance for Ukraine. 

On February 24, the Russian President had announced a ‘special’ military operation into its neighbouring nation, Ukraine which led to widespread destruction in Ukrainian cities. While Zelensklyy has pledged not to leave the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and has stood his ground against Russia’s military aggression, the war has now lasted for 22 days. Ukraine has claimed that Russia has lost over 13,800 personnel and also that the ‘enemy’ forces are specifically targetting civilian structures. 

Image: AP