In response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Allies activated NATO's defence plans and deployed thousands of extra troops from both sides of the Atlantic.
“Our support to your country's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering”, he said, “and that is why at this critical time, we are committed to step-up our assistance, to help Ukrainians defend their rights, their freedom, and their sovereignty. With our support, Ukraine can prevail.
Following Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Allies have sent additional ships, planes and troops to NATO territory in eastern and south-eastern Europe, further reinforcing the Alliance's deterrence and defence posture.
Thousands of anti-tank weapons, hundreds of air-defence missiles and thousands of small arms and ammunition stocks are being sent to Ukraine. Allies are also providing millions of euros worth of financial assistance and humanitarian aid, including medical supplies to help Ukrainian forces.
Why isn't Nato sending troops to Ukraine? As Ukraine isn't a member, Nato isn't obliged to come to its defence. Nato countries fear that if their troops confront Russian forces, it could lead to an all-out conflict between Russia and the West. This is also why Nato rejected a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Plans for NATO membership were shelved by Ukraine following the 2010 presidential election in which Viktor Yanukovych, who preferred to keep the country non-aligned, was elected President. Amid the unrest, caused by the Euromaidan protests, Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014.
The force has grown from 13,000 troops to 40,000 since 2014, with many of those based along the alliance's eastern flank, from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.
Since 1949, NATO has increased its collective military power. Today it has the capability to count on nearly 3.5-million personnel, troops and civilian combined. Each member state agrees to contribute with different strategic weight and influence.
NATO will boost its high-readiness forces to more than 300,000 troops, the alliance's chief announced on Monday, in part of plans that he described as “the biggest overhaul of our collective defense and deterrence since the Cold War.” The current NATO response force compromises approximately 40,000 troops.
The 11 September attacks in the United States, a NATO member, invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. It remains the only time since NATO's inception that an attack from an external party or state has been deemed an attack on all NATO members.
The NATO Alliance consists of 30 member states from North America and Europe. Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it should be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary.
In April this year, the four countries participated in NATO's foreign ministerial meeting and they agreed to continue supporting Ukraine and to step up cooperation given the "global implications" of Russia's war on Ukraine. Australia, Japan and South Korea are all U.S. security allies.
In 2021, the United States had the largest number of military personnel out of all North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, with 1.35 million troops. The country with the second largest number of military personnel was Turkey, with just over 445,000 personnel.
NATO has 5,040, 5,495 and 2,803 in comparison, but leads in battle tanks and armoured vehicles, with 14,682 and 115,855 respectively, to Russia's 12,420 and 30,122.
Over 40,000 troops, along with significant air and naval assets, are now under direct NATO command in the eastern part of the Alliance, supported by hundreds of thousands more from Allies' national deployments.
Top 10 Countries with the Highest Number of Active-Duty Military Personnel (in members): China - 2.2M. India - 1.5M. United States - 1.4M.
In terms of submarines, China just edges out Russia by 79 to 70. Russia maintains the upper hand in the air, boasting just over 4,000 aircraft to China's 3,200, according to Global Firepower, of which Russia had 739 dedicated attack aircraft to China's 371.
As of 2022, there were estimated to be approximately 4,178 nuclear warheads belonging to three NATO allies, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. The majority of these belonged to the United States, which had 3,708 nuclear warheads.
The UN likely commands more global influence, but NATO, for example, is more powerful militarily. Inter-governmental organisations, such as the European Union, are hugely powerful globally.
The United States
The star-spangled banner marks the strongest military power in the world.
Six EU member states, all who have declared their non-alignment with military alliances, are not NATO members: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta, and Sweden. Additionally, Switzerland, which is surrounded by the EU, has also maintained their neutrality by remaining a non-EU-member.
A world map reveals that, first, Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere and, second, it lies not in the Atlantic Ocean but, rather, in the Indian and Pacific oceans. NATO is principally for the nations located in the region of the North Atlantic and also nations neighboring or near such nations.
India is not a member of NATO and there are many reasons for not being a member country of NATO. The first and main reason is India is not in the North Atlantic or anywhere close to the Atlantic.
1. Russia (Overall ranking: 2)