Editing NATO (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of NATO}}

===20th century===
NATO has its roots in the [[Atlantic Charter]], a 1941 agreement between the United States and United Kingdom.  The Charter laid out a framework for international cooperation without territorial expansion after [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biden, Johnson sign new Atlantic Charter on trade, defense amid Covid recovery|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-johnson-sign-new-atlantic-charter-trade-defense-amid-covid-n1270282|access-date=10 June 2021|website=NBC News|date=10 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref> On 4 March 1947, the [[Treaty of Dunkirk]] was signed by France and the United Kingdom during the [[aftermath of World War II]] and the [[Cold War (1947–1953)|start of the Cold War]] as a ''Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance'' in the event of possible attacks by Germany. In March 1948, this alliance was expanded in the [[Treaty of Brussels]] to include the [[Benelux]] countries, forming the Brussels Treaty Organization, commonly known as the [[Western Union (alliance)|Western Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cvce.eu/en/collections/unit-content/-/unit/d5906df5-4f83-4603-85f7-0cabc24b9fe1/051bd03c-4887-4f53-82eb-0f12e59f8dbd |title= The origins of WEU: Western Union |website= University of Luxembourg |date= December 2009 |access-date= 23 July 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180621020009/https://www.cvce.eu/en/collections/unit-content/-/unit/d5906df5-4f83-4603-85f7-0cabc24b9fe1/051bd03c-4887-4f53-82eb-0f12e59f8dbd |archive-date= 21 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Talks for a wider military alliance, which could include North America, also began that month in the United States, where their foreign policy under the [[Truman Doctrine]] set out in 1947 promoted international solidarity against actions they saw as communist aggression, such as the [[1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état|February 1948 coup d'état in Czechoslovakia]]. These talks resulted in the signature of the [[North Atlantic Treaty]] on 4 April 1949 by the member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.<ref name=history>{{cite web |url= http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_139339.htm |title= A short history of NATO |publisher= NATO |access-date= 26 March 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170326231233/http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_139339.htm |archive-date= 26 March 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Canadian diplomat [[Lester B. Pearson]] was a key author and drafter of the treaty.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_161511.htm | title=Canada and NATO – 1949 | access-date=14 April 2022 | archive-date=8 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408074851/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_161511.htm | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LgDutkaOU0C&dq=%22author+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22&pg=PA293 |title=Speaking Out: A Congressman's Lifelong Fight Against Bigotry, Famine, and War |isbn=9781569768914 |accessdate=24 April 2022 |last1=Findley |first1=Paul |year=2011 |publisher=Chicago Review Press, Incorporated |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404032047/https://books.google.com/books?id=8LgDutkaOU0C&dq=%22author+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22&pg=PA293 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nktsAAAAIAAJ&q=%22founder+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22 |title=The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography: An International Reference Work |year=1973 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=9780070796331 |accessdate=24 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404085605/https://books.google.com/books?id=nktsAAAAIAAJ&q=%22founder+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-098967, Aufnahme der Bundesrepublik in die NATO.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|[[West Germany]] joined NATO in 1955, which led to the formation of the rival [[Warsaw Pact]] during the [[Cold War]].|alt=A long rectangular room with multiple rows of seated individuals on each side, and flags hanging at the far end.]]

The North Atlantic Treaty was largely dormant until the [[Korean War]] initiated the establishment of NATO to implement it with an integrated military structure. This included the formation of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]] (SHAPE) in 1951, which adopted many of the Western Union's military structures and plans,<ref name=pace>{{cite web |url= http://archives.nato.int/nato-first-5-years-1949-1954-by-lord-ismay-secretary-general-of-north-atlantic-treaty-organization;isad |title= NATO the first five years 1949–1954 |first= Hastings |last= Ismay |author-link= Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay |publisher= NATO |date= 4 September 2001 |access-date= 10 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170315234941/http://archives.nato.int/nato-first-5-years-1949-1954-by-lord-ismay-secretary-general-of-north-atlantic-treaty-organization%3Bisad |archive-date= 15 March 2017 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> including their [[Standardization Agreement|agreements on standardizing equipment]] and [[Status of forces agreement|agreements on stationing foreign military forces]] in European countries. In 1952, the post of [[Secretary General of NATO]] was established as the organization's chief civilian. That year also saw the first major NATO [[Military exercise|maritime exercises]], [[Exercise Mainbrace]] and the accession of Greece and Turkey to the organization.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baldwin |first=Hanson |date=28 September 1952 |title=Navies Meet the Test in Operation Mainbrace |journal=New York Times |page=E7 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/09/28/archives/navies-meet-the-test-in-operation-mainbrace-important-role-in.html |access-date=10 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010140743/http://www.nytimes.com/1952/09/28/archives/navies-meet-the-test-in-operation-mainbrace-important-role-in.html |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816183,00.html |title= NATO: The Man with the Oilcan |date= 24 March 1952 |access-date= 17 January 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120108012303/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816183,00.html |archive-date= 8 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following the [[London and Paris Conferences]], [[West Germany]] was permitted to rearm militarily, as they joined NATO in May 1955, which was, in turn, a major factor in the creation of the Soviet-dominated [[Warsaw Pact]], delineating the two opposing sides of the [[Cold War]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/this-day-in-politics-106640 |title= Soviet Union establishes Warsaw Pact, May 14, 1955 |website= Politico |first= Andrew |last= Glass |date= 14 May 2014 |access-date= 10 June 2022 |archive-date= 24 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220924060153/https://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/this-day-in-politics-106640 |url-status= live }}</ref>

The building of the [[Berlin Wall]] in 1961 marked a height in Cold War tensions, when 400,000&nbsp;US troops were stationed in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/should-united-states-keep-troops-germany |title= Should the United States Keep Troops in Germany? |first= Dan |last= Olmsted |date= September 2020 |access-date= 22 February 2021 |website= National WW2 Museum |archive-date= 25 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210125212146/https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/should-united-states-keep-troops-germany |url-status= live }}</ref> Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion – doubts that led to the development of the [[Strike Force (France)|independent French nuclear deterrent]] and the withdrawal of [[France]] from NATO's military structure in 1966.{{sfn|van der Eyden|2003|pp=104–106}}<ref name="WP-France">{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031100547.html |title=After 43 Years, France to Rejoin NATO as Full Member |date=12 March 2009 |first=Edward |last=Cody |access-date=19 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026171515/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031100547.html |archive-date=26 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/spain/88.htm|title=Spain and NATO|access-date=10 April 2021|website=Country Studies US |publisher=Source: U.S. Library of Congress|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415105730/http://countrystudies.us/spain/88.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Revolutions of 1989]] in Europe led to a strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature, tasks, and focus on the continent. In October 1990, [[East Germany]] [[German reunification|became part of the Federal Republic of Germany]] and the alliance, and in November 1990, the alliance signed the [[Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe]] (CFE) in Paris with the Soviet Union. It mandated specific military reductions across the continent, which continued after the collapse of the [[Warsaw Pact]] in February 1991 and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] that December, which removed the ''de facto'' main adversaries of NATO.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/15/russia.nato |title= Kremlin tears up arms pact with Nato |first= Luke |last= Harding |work= The Observer |date= 14 July 2007 |access-date= 1 May 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130831182652/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/15/russia.nato |archive-date= 31 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> This began a drawdown of military spending and equipment in Europe. The CFE treaty allowed signatories to remove 52,000&nbsp;pieces of conventional armaments in the following sixteen years,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheet/cfe |title= The Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and the Adapted CFE Treaty at a Glance |date= August 2017 |first= Daryl |last= Kimball |website= Arms Control Association |access-date= 22 February 2021 |archive-date= 24 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210224222245/https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheet/cfe |url-status= live }}</ref> and allowed military spending by NATO's European members to decline by 28 percent from 1990 to 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 |title= The Politics of 2 Percent: NATO and the Security Vacuum in Europe |first= Jan |last= Techau |date= 2 September 2015 |website= Carnegie Europe |access-date= 22 February 2021 |archive-date= 23 September 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180923231851/http://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 |url-status= live }}</ref> In 1990, several Western leaders gave assurances to [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] that NATO would not expand further east, as revealed by memoranda of private conversations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eichler |first1=Jan |title=NATO's Expansion After the Cold War: Geopolitics and Impacts for International Security |date=2021 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783030666415 |pages=34, 35}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early|title=Declassified documents show security assurances against NATO expansion to Soviet leaders from Baker, Bush, Genscher, Kohl, Gates, Mitterrand, Thatcher, Hurd, Major, and Woerner|date=12 December 2017|website=|publisher=National Security Archive|url-status=live|archive-date=23 December 2019|access-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223011430/https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Klaus |last=Wiegrefe |url=https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/nato-osterweiterung-aktenfund-stuetzt-russische-version-a-1613d467-bd72-4f02-8e16-2cd6d3285295 |title=Neuer Aktenfund von 1991 stützt russischen Vorwurf |publisher=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=18 February 2022 |access-date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303104526/https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/nato-osterweiterung-aktenfund-stuetzt-russische-version-a-1613d467-bd72-4f02-8e16-2cd6d3285295 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Baker |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/us/politics/russia-ukraine-james-baker.html |title=In Ukraine Conflict, Putin Relies on a Promise That Ultimately Wasn't |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 January 2022 |access-date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301223355/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/us/politics/russia-ukraine-james-baker.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Berlin Wall at NATO Headquarters.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|The [[Fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989 marked a turning point in NATO's role in Europe, and a section of that wall is displayed outside [[NATO headquarters]].|alt=Two tall concrete sections of a wall in a grass lawn in front of a curved building with blue-glass windows.]]

In the 1990s, the organization extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns.<ref name=rfe>{{cite news |url= https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-announces-special-summit-in-london-in-december/29754567.html |title= NATO Announces Special 70th Anniversary Summit In London In December |website= Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date= 6 February 2019 |access-date= 6 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190406165903/https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-announces-special-summit-in-london-in-december/29754567.html |archive-date= 6 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]], the organization conducted its first [[List of NATO operations|military interventions]] in [[NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia from 1992 to 1995]] and later [[1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia in 1999]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.uri.edu/iaics/files/16-Jing-Ke.pdf|title=Did the US Media Reflect the Reality of the Kosovo War in an Objective Manner? A Case Study of The Washington Post and The Washington Times|last=Jing Ke|date=2008|website=University of Rhode Island|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323093720/https://web.uri.edu/iaics/files/16-Jing-Ke.pdf|archive-date=23 March 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Politically, the organization sought better relations with the newly autonomous [[Central and Eastern Europe]]an states, and diplomatic forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up during this post-Cold War period, including the [[Partnership for Peace]] and the [[Mediterranean Dialogue]] initiative in 1994, the [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council]] in 1997, and the [[NATO–Russia relations|NATO–Russia Permanent Joint Council]] in 1998. At the [[1999 Washington summit]], [[Hungary]], [[Poland]], and the [[Czech Republic]] officially joined NATO, and the organization also issued new guidelines for membership with individualized "[[Membership Action Plan]]s". These plans governed the subsequent addition of new alliance members.<ref>{{cite web|last=NATO|title=Relations with the Republic of North Macedonia (Archived)|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48830.htm|access-date=16 February 2022|website=NATO|language=en|archive-date=10 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310022112/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48830.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:NATO meeting in Washington - 2024.jpg|thumb|left|Group photo of the [[2024 Washington summit]]]]

[[s:North Atlantic Treaty#Article 5|Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty]], requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the [[September 11 attacks]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Invocation of Article 5 confirmed |url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |date=3 October 2001 |publisher=North Atlantic Treaty Organization |access-date=29 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230143558/http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |archive-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> after which troops were deployed to [[Afghanistan]] under the NATO-led [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]]. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending [[NATO Training Mission – Iraq|trainers to Iraq]], assisting in [[Operation Ocean Shield|counter-piracy operations]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Counter-piracy operations |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48815.htm |work=North Atlantic Treaty Organization |access-date=27 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526115212/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48815.htm |archive-date=26 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The election of French president [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] in 2007 led to a major reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the [[NATO Military Command Structure]], while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent.<ref name=WP-France/><ref name="guardian-france">{{cite news |title=Sarkozy military plan unveiled |last=Stratton |first=Allegra |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/17/france.military |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=17 June 2008 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307184804/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/17/france.military |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DPC">{{cite web | url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49201.htm | title=Defence Planning Committee (DPC) (Archived) | publisher=NATO | date=11 November 2014 | access-date=13 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222165648/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49201.htm | archive-date=22 December 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Nato awacs.jpg|thumb|NATO [[E-3 Sentry|E-3A]] flying with [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]]s in a NATO exercise]]

The 2014 [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|Russian annexation of Crimea]] led to strong condemnation by all NATO members,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_107716.htm |title= Statement by the North Atlantic Council following meeting under article 4 of the Washington Treaty |work= NATO Newsroom |date= 4 March 2014 |access-date= 2 April 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140310182356/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_107716.htm |archive-date= 10 March 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was one of the seven times that [[North Atlantic Treaty#Article 4|Article 4]], which calls for consultation among NATO members, has been invoked. Prior times included during the [[Iraq War]] and [[Syrian civil war]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm |title= The consultation process and Article 4 |website= NATO |date= 24 February 2022 |access-date= 3 April 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220402192427/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm |archive-date= 2 April 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the [[2014 Wales summit]], the leaders of NATO's member states formally committed for the first time to spend the equivalent of at least two percent of their [[gross domestic product]]s on defence by 2024, which had previously been only an informal guideline.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Techau | first1=Jan | title=The Politics of 2 Percent: NATO and the Security Vacuum in Europe | url=http://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 | date=2 September 2015 | publisher=[[Carnegie Europe]] | quote=A month before [the alliance's summit in Riga in 2006], Victoria Nuland, then the U.S. ambassador to NATO, called the 2 percent metric the "unofficial floor" on defence spending in NATO. But never had all governments of NATO's 28 nations officially embraced it at the highest possible political level – a summit declaration. | access-date=11 July 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712221337/https://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 | archive-date=12 July 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:FLEET-20240311-XE0146-010.jpg|thumb|[[Steadfast Defender 2024|Steadfast Defender 24]] was the largest NATO exercise since the [[Cold War (1985–1991)|end of the Cold War]].]]

At the [[2016 Warsaw summit]], NATO countries agreed on the creation of [[NATO Enhanced Forward Presence]], which deployed four multinational battalion-sized battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.<ref name="EFP">{{cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_136388.htm |title=NATO's military presence in the east of the Alliance |website=NATO |date=28 March 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331223713/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_136388.htm |archive-date=31 March 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Before and during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], several NATO countries sent ground troops, warships and fighter aircraft to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank, and multiple countries again invoked Article 4.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/11/us-sending-3000-more-troops-to-poland-00008357 |title=U.S. sending 3,000 more troops to Poland amid fresh Ukraine invasion warnings |last1=McLeary |first1=Paul |last2=Toosi |first2=Nahal |website=Politico |date=11 February 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222062321/https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/11/us-sending-3000-more-troops-to-poland-00008357 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/spain-sends-warships-black-sea-considers-sending-warplanes-2022-01-20/ |title=Spain sends warships to Black Sea, considers sending warplanes |website=Reuters |date=21 January 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=22 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122113343/https://www.reuters.com/world/spain-sends-warships-black-sea-considers-sending-warplanes-2022-01-20/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-will-send-four-fighter-jets-130-troops-bulgaria-2022-02-09/ |title=Spain will send four fighter jets and 130 troops to Bulgaria |website=Reuters |date=9 February 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214180335/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-will-send-four-fighter-jets-130-troops-bulgaria-2022-02-09/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2022, NATO leaders met at Brussels for an [[2022 Brussels summit|extraordinary summit]] which also involved [[Group of Seven]] and European Union leaders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dw.com/en/nato-g7-eu-leaders-display-unity-avoid-confrontation-with-russia/a-61259981 |title=NATO, G7, EU leaders display unity, avoid confrontation with Russia |website=Deutsche Welle |date=25 March 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403082458/https://www.dw.com/en/nato-g7-eu-leaders-display-unity-avoid-confrontation-with-russia/a-61259981 |url-status=live }}</ref> NATO member states agreed to establish four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia,<ref name="EFP"/> and elements of the [[NATO Response Force]] were activated for the first time in NATO's history.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.axios.com/nato-kremlin-russian-invasion-ukraine-0872be5e-b5e0-486b-b356-2985370e5148.html |title=NATO Response Force deploys for first time |last=Gonzalez |first=Oriana |website=Axios |date=26 February 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320114915/https://www.axios.com/nato-kremlin-russian-invasion-ukraine-0872be5e-b5e0-486b-b356-2985370e5148.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of June 2022, NATO had deployed 40,000 troops along its {{convert|2,500|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|-1}} Eastern flank to deter Russian aggression. More than half of this number have been deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, which five countries muster a considerable combined ex-NATO force of 259,000 troops. To supplement Bulgaria's Air Force, Spain sent [[Eurofighter Typhoon]]s, the Netherlands sent eight [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35]] attack aircraft, and additional French and US attack aircraft would arrive soon as well.<ref name="birn14.6">{{cite news |title=NATO BOOSTS FORCES IN EAST TO DETER RUSSIAN MENACE |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/06/14/nato-boosts-forces-in-east-to-deter-russian-menace/ |work=BIRN |agency=Balkan Investigative Reporting Network |publisher=Balkan Insight |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=15 June 2022 |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615152556/https://balkaninsight.com/2022/06/14/nato-boosts-forces-in-east-to-deter-russian-menace/ |url-status=live }}</ref>