After Polish media reported that Russian missiles killed two people on November 15 near the Ukrainian border, Poland called an urgent meeting of its national security officials. The origin of the missiles is unknown, but they arrived on the territory of the NATO member roughly at the same time that Russia launched its heaviest barrage of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month.
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According to a government spokesman, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called a meeting of the Committee of the Council of Ministers for National Security and Defense Affairs. On the other hand, in a brief statement on November 15, the Russian Defense Ministry denied targeting the border and referred to the reports by Polish media as “a deliberate provocation in order to escalate the situation.”
NATO allies expressed concern in response to the reports. Baltic NATO members were more forceful in their statements, emphasizing their readiness to defend NATO territory. Estonian and Lithuanian government officials said on Twitter that every inch of NATO territory must be defended. Article 5 of the NATO treaty is undoubtedly called into question in light of the attack.
Why was NATO established
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949 to protect Europe from Soviet attack during the Cold War. It now stands for a fundamental alliance between Europe and North America based on shared political and economic principles. From 12 countries, membership has increased to 30.
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Who are the members of NATO?
Between 1949 and 1982, the first 16 countries joined. The United States, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, and Iceland are ranked in order of population.
Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1999, the next 14 countries joined. Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia are the countries involved.
What exactly does Article 5 say?
Article 5 states that “an armed attack against one or more” NATO members “shall be considered an attack against all,” and that in this case, the members agree to “assist the party or parties so attacked” with “such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force.”
If a triggering event occurs, NATO members “meet to discuss whether they agree that actions on the ground rise to the level of invoking Article 5. They must reach consensus on this, rather than taking a formal vote. Consensus can mean that no government objects to invoking Article 5,” according to Mai’a K. Davis Cross, a Northeastern University professor of political science and international affairs.
Has Article 5 ever been invoked?
Individual NATO members have taken steps to advance security goals on occasion, but Article 5 has only been invoked once — in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
NATO agreed to a package of measures to assist the United States in October 2001, including the deployment of seven NATO aircraft and 830 crew members from 13 countries to patrol US airspace. Following 9/11, a second mission involved naval patrols and surveillance in the Mediterranean Sea.
In light of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the alliance can take collective defence measures without invoking Article 5 – and has done so. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long complained that NATO has expanded its borders by admitting former Soviet Union members from Eastern Europe, meaning Russia now shares a land border with the world’s largest military alliance, reducing his geopolitical power in what was once Moscow’s sphere of influence.
He demanded in February that NATO return to its 1997 borders, before the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, the latter two of which border Russia, joined the alliance.
