What is NATO Response Force? How can it stop Russia's military attacks on Ukraine?

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, North Atlantic Treaty Organization aka NATO on Friday announced the activation of the NATO Response Force. As the force was activated for the first time, NATO leaders informed that the move is a defensive measure against Russia’s aggression and the forces will not fight the war in Ukraine. The multinational force consisting of land, air, sea and special operations forces from the allies are now kept on standby ready to be deployed.

Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Tod Wolters announced the activation of the NATO Response Force. This comes after escalations in Ukraine as Russia began its invasion. Earlier, US President Joe Biden had announced the deployment of over 7,000 US troops to eastern Europe to help bolster the NATO alliance force. Let’s have a look at what the NATO Response Force is and how it affects the ongoing war.  

What is NATO Response Force?

According to NATO, the NATO Response Force (NRF) is a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components. This is a highly trained force that the Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed. Apart from its operational duties, the NRF can also be used for greater cooperation in education and training, increased exercises, support for disaster relief and better use of technology.

“The NRF has the overarching purpose of being able to provide a rapid military response to an emerging crisis, whether for collective defence purposes or for other crisis-response operations. The NRF gives the Alliance the means to respond swiftly to various types of crises anywhere in the world. It is also a driving engine for NATO’s military transformation,” NATO’s official website reads.

According to NATO, the NRF is a force based on a rotational system where Allied countries commit land, air, maritime or Special Operations Forces (SOF) units for a period of 12 months. Once approved by the North Atlantic Council, the NRF is ready for deployment in any partner country at any given point in time. The concept of NRF was first approved by NATO’s Allied Ministers of Defence in June 2003 in Brussels.

NRF’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war

The first-ever activation of the NATO Response Force came on Friday as a defensive measure amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The force can now deploy itself quickly in support of the NATO alliance. However, the activation of the response troops does not mean that the NATO troops or the US will go into Ukraine to fight the war.

Ukraine is not a member of NATO and the forces will not interfere in the ongoing invasion. US President Joe Biden had also cleared the same and informed that the troops are being deployed in eastern Europe to help bolster NATO countries' defence against Russia's aggressive actions. The forces on standby will not be fighting in Ukraine. The decision to activate the response force was announced after NATO leaders held a call on Friday morning. The exact details and numbers of NATO's response force are not clear yet.

Russia invades Ukraine

On Thursday, Russia launched attacks on Ukraine that quickly spread across the country as Russian forces attacked from three sides by land, sea, and air. Currently, a battle is underway for control of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. On the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 137 Ukrainians including military personnel and civilians, were reported dead. While on the second day, the sound of explosions was heard in Kyiv. 

Image: AP