What is NATO and What is it's purpose? How many Countries are in NATO?

What is NATO?: NATO is a military alliance that was formed in 1949 by 12 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK and France. NATO's full form is North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. 

NATO was formed largely to counter the threat from the Soviet Union post World War II. The USSR had created its own military alliance in 1955 to counter NATO, called the Warsaw pact. Warsaw got disbanded with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 and several of Warsaw pact countries became NATO members. 

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NATO alliance has a total of 30 member countries. Under the alliance, the member countries have agreed to come to one another's aid in the event of armed attack against any one member state. 

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What is the Purpose of NATO

NATO's purpose is to implement the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on April 4, 1949. NATO constitutes a system of collective security. Under the system, an attack on one member state is considered as an attack on all and it calls for a collective response. This ensures collective security of all NATO member states. NATO's headquarters are located in located in Brussels, Belgium.

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NATO Member Countries

NATO member countries include 2 North American countries, 27 European countries and 1 Eurasian country.

List of NATO Member Countries

Last Country to join NATO is - North Macedonia

Is Ukraine a NATO member country?

No, Ukraine is not a NATO member country. Ukraine is though a NATO partner country, which means that it may join the NATO in the future.

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What is Russia's issue with NATO and Ukraine?

Russia is against the former Soviet Union Republic Ukraine joining the NATO alliance. Russia wants NATO to bar Ukraine from joining NATO, which the US and its allies have refused to do. 

Russia also wants NATO to cease its military activities in Eastern Europe, claiming that the Western powers are using the alliance to encroach on Russia. NATO rejected this saying that only a small number of its member states actually share border with Russia.

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What is NATO doing about the current Russia-Ukraine crisis?

US President Joe Biden said that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached out to him after the Russian attacks on Ukraine. He said that he condemns the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces on Ukraine. 

The US President will be meeting with the leaders of the G7 nations and United States and our Allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia. He further assured that the US will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

The United States has already sent nearly 3,000 additional troops to Poland and Romania to reinforce Nato's eastern borders and another  8,500 combat-ready troops have been put on alert. Though there are no NATO troops deployed within Ukaine. 

The US has also sent weapons to Ukraine including Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The United Kingdom has also sent 2,000 short-range anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. The UK has also deployed 350 more troops in Poland and doubled its strength in Estonia with additional 900 troops. 

Other NATO allies including France, Denmark, Spain and Netherlands have also sent fighter jets and warships to eastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.

French President Emmanuel Macron had recently visited Ukraine and Russia and met with the respective leaders in a last ditch effort to evade war. He had also negatiation a telephone call between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Background

NATO had not intervened last time when Ukrainians deposed their pro-Russian president in early 2014 and Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine's southern Crimean peninsula. While NATO did condemn annexation of Crimea and remove Russia from its G8 grouping, it did not take any harsh action.

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