Stoltenberg: NATO To More Than Double Size Of Elite Force
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said June 22 the alliance will approve plans this week to more than double the size of its rapid-response force.
Speaking ahead of a June 24-26 meeting in Brussels, Stoltenberg said, "NATO defense ministers ... [will] make a decision to further increase the strength and capacity of the 13,000-strong NATO Response Force (NRF) to 30,000 or 40,000 troops."
Stoltenberg said the alliance was also making steady progress on beefing up an NRF spearhead unit known as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force with a full complement of resources.
The 5,000-strong unit able to deploy within days, not months, was set up by NATO leaders at a summit in September.
Stoltenberg also said NATO would "speed up" its decision-making process to meet the new challenges, including setting up a new logistics headquarters unit within the overall command structure.
Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa
Military: Two Ukrainian Servicemen Killed In Past 24 Hours
The Ukrainian military says two of its servicemen have been killed and three wounded in fresh separatist attacks in the east.
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told a news conference, "Around Donetsk, particularly near the airport, there is military action practically round-the-clock ... The enemy has pulled banned weapons into Donetsk -- tanks and high-caliber guns -- and is actively using them."
The situation near the strategic Kyiv-controlled port city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine was also "extremely tense" on June 21, with rebels using artillery and sniper fire to attack government positions, Lysenko said.
Meanwhile, separatist officials said there had been no significant attacks on rebel-held territory by Ukrainian forces over the weekend.
Both sides accuse the other of regularly violating a cease-fire deal signed in Minsk in February, but a surge in fighting in the past few weeks has caused international monitors to warn of a threat of a wider escalation.