Despite fears of fatigue, Nato allies are closer than ever after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Of course when you chat to officials in the soulless, concrete monolith that is Nato HQ here in Brussels, no-one expresses pleasure at the current situation in Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But they are quick to tell you how surprised, amazed or encouraged they are, and that the alliance is so "very" united.
"A daily diet of war crimes, those images hitting our screens day after day. That makes it hard to turn away."Ukraine accuses Russia of committing war crimes throughout its full-scale invasion - including in Bucha, near Kyiv"[Moscow] has tried to blackmail or manipulate nations supporting Ukraine with a 'we can make you suffer too' message," an official from a large Nato country told me.
Many officials also linked the unexpected advances of Ukraine's armed forces against Russia with strong Western support. Or, put more cynically, with making it politically far harder for allies to reduce that support.The practical is focused on how to structure industries to be able to keep manufacturing and providing military support for Ukraine.
So, Nato has considerably boosted defence capabilities for its "Eastern flank" of member countries geographically close to Russia, but the alliance says it has no organised mission inside Ukraine. It's not training Ukrainian soldiers or providing Kyiv with military support as an organisation.Artillery provided by Nato member states has played a key role in the war
Yet the leaders of those countries appear unwavering for now in their support for Ukraine. Arguably more steadfast now in fact than earlier in the conflict. A US official in Brussels goes a step further: "What Russia did caused a paradigm shift for security calculations across the globe." Reluctantly, its attention was back on Europe's military defence - even at the risk of that harming President Joe Biden in the recent mid-term elections .
The EU has worked fast at member-state level and as a bloc to wean itself off energy dependency on Russia, and Mr Macron isn't mincing his words these days when it comes to Moscow. "[The US] also has open lines of communication with Moscow. Not to discuss the future of Ukraine - that's up to the Ukrainians to decide - but to talk about other issues, like the nuclear question."
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine war: Ukraine struggles to restore power after Russian strikesUkraine says 50% of the country's electricity needs are not being met, and water supplies are affected.
Read more »
Ukraine war: Merkel says she lacked power to influence PutinThe German ex-chancellor says she could not block Russia's designs on Ukraine in 2021.
Read more »
Net migration expected to surge despite Government's pledge to bring numbers downA large proportion of the increase is likely to be driven by the hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Hong Kong given the right to live in the UK due to war and persecution in their home countries
Read more »
Ukraine war latest: Stop fighting or face destruction, Belarus warns Ukraine - as Poland declines offer of air defencesA barrage of Russian missile strikes has killed 10 people in Kyiv and left much of the capital without power; Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko tells Ukraine it should stop fighting; listen to the latest episode of Ukraine War Diaries as you scroll.
Read more »
Oil tankers/Ukraine: higher prices are routed in longer journeys\n\t\t\tExpert insights, analysis and smart data help you cut through the noise to spot trends,\n\t\t\trisks and opportunities.\n\t\t\n\t\tJoin over 300,000 Finance professionals who already subscribe to the FT.
Read more »