NATO Celebrates 75th Anniversary with Focus on Security Threats and Support for Ukraine

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated its 75th anniversary on the 4th. Pictured is Secretary General Stoltenberg. (2024Reuters/Johanna Geron)

[ブリュッセル ４日 ロイター] – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated its 75th anniversary on the 4th. NATO was founded by 12 European countries and America in response to military threats against democratic countries by the communist bloc, centered on the former Soviet Union. As NATO membership expands to 32, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is once again a major security threat to NATO.

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said at the ceremony, noting that a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine has been blocked in the US Congress, saying, “Europe needs North America for its security. We need Europe.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba met with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels and asked for the provision of air defense systems, including the US-made Patriot ground interceptor missile. “We had to convey a very sad message regarding the Russian airstrikes against Ukraine,” he said at a press conference, adding that NATO foreign ministers had agreed to identify the air defense systems they would provide them to Ukraine and confirm that they have been included. their own inventory.

Secretary of State Blinken said further support for Ukraine is particularly important because countries such as China, North Korea and Iran support Russia’s efforts to strengthen its defense industrial base. “I am confident that all countries, including the United States, will do everything in their power to secure the resources that Ukraine continues to need, and will do more if necessary.”

According to Ukrainian authorities, on the night of the 4th, Russia used small drones to attack civilian homes and energy facilities in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, killing several residents and causing a large-scale power outage.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Scandinavian countries of Finland and Sweden changed their long-standing policies of neutrality and joined NATO. “Unlike Russia, which expands through ‘annexation’ and illegal invasion, democratic countries and free people choose to join NATO,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Valtonen. Under these circumstances, Kremlin Spokesman Peskov criticized NATO on the same day, saying that NATO “is already involved in the conflict over Ukraine and continues to expand its military infrastructure towards Russia’s borders.” He acknowledged that the relationship between NATO and Russia had “reached the level of direct conflict.” See more

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Andrew Gray is Reuters European Affairs Editor. Based in Brussels, he covers NATO and the European Union and leads a trans-European team of correspondents focusing on diplomacy, defense and security. A journalist for nearly 30 years, he has previously worked in the UK, Germany, Geneva, the Balkans, West Africa and Washington, where he reported on the Pentagon. He covered the Iraq war in 2003 and contributed a chapter to a Reuters book on the conflict. He has also worked at Politico Europe as a senior editor and podcast host, served as editor-in-chief of a fellowship program for Balkan journalists, and contributed to the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent radio show.

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