DefenceTalkRussia said emphatically on Tuesday it did not want Ukraine to become a NATO member, describing such a possibility as an “unprecedented challenge to European security”. “Ukraine in NATO would be an unprecedented challenge to European security, the biggest since the collapse of the Berlin Wall,” said Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s envoy to the European Union. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-in-nato-would-be-unprecedented-challenge-russia-60564/

DefenceTalkFollowing a prolonged period of budgetary reductions, Europe’s larger defense environment appears to have reached its low threshold. But instead of a marked rebound in investment, the market as a whole will remain largely flat over the near term, according to the latest Europe Military Markets analysis by Forecast International. Though the eurozone economic recovery […]https://www.defencetalk.com/europes-defense-retrenchment-appears-over-but-what-comes-next-60573/

DefenceTalkThe Alliance’s 28 leaders at their Wales Summit on Friday (5 September 2014) agreed on a Readiness Action Plan to strengthen NATO’s collective defence and to ensure the Alliance is ready to deal with any challenge. “This is a demonstration of our solidarity and resolve,” said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The Secretary General […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-leaders-take-decisions-to-ensure-robust-alliance-60543/

DefenceTalkThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is meeting this Thursday and Friday to go over ways to offer better protection in Eastern Europe. The military alliance is considering the creation of a rapid reaction force. This summit will probably be called “historic,” top NATO diplomats speculated as they prepared for the two-day meeting in Wales. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-looking-to-step-up-protection-in-eastern-europe-60519/

DefenceTalkThe Russian troops amassed along the Ukrainian border have evolved to an exceptionally capable force, Defense Department spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren told Pentagon reporters today. While NATO estimates the number of Russian troops inside Ukraine number between 1,000 and 2,000, a significantly larger force is massed at the Russia-Ukraine border, Warren said. “We are […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-notes-exceptionally-capable-russian-force-60515/

DefenceTalkThe Ukraine crisis is forcing NATO back to the basics of collective defence in Europe as Russia seeks to restore influence in its Soviet era backyard, analysts and officials said. NATO leaders meeting Thursday and Friday in Wales must now ensure the alliance can react quickly and credibly after years spent well beyond its original […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-crisis-forces-nato-back-to-basics-in-europe-60481/

DefenceTalkUkrainian forces ceded a strategic eastern airport to pro-Russian insurgents on Monday as the government in Kiev accused Moscow of launching a “great war” that could claim tens of thousands of lives. The sense of foreboding in Kiev came as European-mediated talks over the fast-escalating crisis opened in the Belarussian capital Minsk behind closed doors, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/kiev-warns-of-great-war-with-russia-as-its-forces-retreat-60479/

DefenceTalkRussia continues to build up along its border with Ukraine and has moved sophisticated weapons systems into the country, the Pentagon press secretary said here today. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters that Russian military forces are part of those movements. Russian forces are, “facilitating the movement and then helping the separatists use the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-russia-intensifies-efforts-inside-ukraine-60455/

DefenceTalkThe Swedish Armed Forces have raised the level of readiness at Headquarters and placed two Gripen fighter jets on the island of Gotland. A statement on their web page reads: “In view of the serious developments in Ukraine, the Armed Forces act, among other things, by raising preparedness at Headquarters and intensifying intelligence efforts.” Lieutenant […]https://www.defencetalk.com/swedish-defence-raises-military-readiness-60457/

DefenceTalkRebels in east Ukraine appear to have seized swathes of territory from retreating government forces, while Western intelligence says Russian army units are operating inside the country. After weeks of government offensives that have seen troops push deep into the last rebel bastions, the tide appeared to be turning once again in the four-month conflict, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/rebels-seize-ground-as-west-claims-russia-army-is-in-ukraine-60453/