Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Baltic states have been calling for their region to receive the biggest buildup of combat-ready NATO forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War.
Allies expect Finland and Sweden to be granted membership quickly, diplomats and officials have said, paving the way for increased troop presence in the Nordic region.
As nonmembers, Finland and Sweden don't have the protection of NATO's guarantee that an attack on one ally is an attack on all, but moves to join the alliance are growing more likely.
An emboldened Moscow could encircle NATO's new Baltic members, cutting them off from the alliance — if a new Iron Curtain is to fall, NATO needs to ensure its members are not behind it.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine looks designed to take Kyiv and create a land corridor south to the Black Sea, splitting the country into two, military analysts and former officials said.
That ambiguity could slow the pushback Putin will face if Russia repeats past tactics like identifiable cyberattacks or stepped-up support for pro-Russian separatists.
NATO would be likely to reinforce its troop presence in the Black Sea and the Baltics while fending off cyberattacks if Russia were to invade Ukraine, diplomats and former officials said.
The chaotic withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan has shown that the European Union needs to intervene militarily in a crisis without relying on U.S. troops, senior EU officials say.
As Beijing seeks to control the damage to its global reputation, the government is pushing hard to control the story from Berlin to Bratislava
Europe's threat to trigger a mechanism that could reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran marks a significant breakdown in diplomacy to try to save the 2015 nuclear deal and could presage its death knell, diplomats say. Britain, France and Germany have sought to salvage the ...
