UPDATED 3/24/22 10:04AM
UNDATED (AP) – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance is stepping up its defenses against chemical and nuclear weapons as concern mounts that Russia might use such weapons in Ukraine. Stoltenberg says that NATO leaders agreed at their summit Thursday to send equipment to Ukraine to help protect it against a chemical weapons attack.
The leaders agreed Thursday to deploy four new battlegroups, which usually number from 1,000-1,500 troops, to Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Four other battlegroups are stationed in the Baltic States and Poland. NATO nations are concerned that Russia’s attempt to falsely accuse them of working on chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine is part of a ruse by Moscow to create a pretext for using such arms itself.
Meantime, The White House says the United States will expand its sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine by targeting members of the country’s parliament and the central bank’s gold reserves. Washington is also increasing its humanitarian assistance by welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and providing an additional $1 billion in food, medicine, water and other supplies
Original post:
BRUSSELS (AP) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Western allies have opened the first of three summits focused on increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over his war in Ukraine while tending to the economic and security fallout spreading across Europe and the world.
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Biden and the leaders of other NATO countries met at the alliance’s headquarters where they posted for a group photo memorializing the urgent gathering before retreating behind closed doors for their summit. It is expected to last several hours. In one day, Brussels is hosting an emergency NATO summit, a gathering of the Group of Seven leaders, and a summit of the 27 members of the European Union.
(Copyright 2022 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News. This report contains material from The Associated Press.)
