‘Military force met with military force’ if Russia attacks NATO member

Britain has reassured NATO members “that if one Russian boot lands on NATO soil, military force will be met by military force”.

The remark was made today in the House of Commons, watch below.

🚨 NEWS | 🇬🇧 Britain reassures NATO members "that if one Russian boot lands on NATO soil, military force will be met by military force". pic.twitter.com/bTEEXSEKsm

— George Allison (@geoallison) February 24, 2022

Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, said:

“I commend my right hon. Friend and his Ministers for the firm stance they are taking. None of us knows what Mr Putin’s longer-term aims are. If Ukraine falls, and I fear that it might, his covetous eye might land on the Baltic states and other vulnerable countries. Can my right hon. Friend reassure NATO members that if one Russian boot lands on NATO soil, military force will be met by military force?”

The Prime Minister responded:

“Yes, and what is so encouraging is that the whole House understands the vital importance of that article 5 guarantee that we make to every one of the 30 members of NATO.”

What is Article 5?

NATO say that the principle of collective defence is at the very heart of NATO’s founding treaty. It remains a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance.

Article 5 provides that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.

Article 5

“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.”

This article is complemented by Article 6, which stipulates:

Article 6

“For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:

• on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France , on the territory of Turkey or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;

• on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.”

What’s going on in Ukraine?

At about 0600 Moscow time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in eastern Ukraine; minutes later, missile strikes began at locations across the country, including in the capital Kyiv. Here’s what has happened since.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin orders a military operation to “demilitarise and denazify” Ukraine. Belarusian soldiers assist Russia in invading Ukraine. (CNN) (CNN₂)
• Putin warns of “consequences you have never seen in history” whoever tries to interfere or “create threats for our country”. (AP)
• Ukraine confirms that Russian Ground Forces have entered Luhansk Oblast, Sumy Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Kherson Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, Zhytomyr Oblast and crossed the border from occupied Crimea. Russian troops also attack the port cities of Odessa and Mariupol in amphibious landings. (CNN) (The Business Standard)
• Russian tanks enter the city of Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine. (BBC News)
• Russian troops enter the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine says Russian forces have captured the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Zelinsky calls the attack on Chernobyl as “declaration of war on all of Europe”. (Daily Sabah) (The Independent) (Unian)
• Russian troops enter Sumy and take control over the road leading from Kyiv to Moscow in the region; battles for strategic cities on the railway to Sumy are underway. (Novoye Vremya)
• Russia announces control of the North Crimean Canal in the Kherson Oblast and restoration of water supplies to Crimea. (UrduPoint)
• Russian ballistic and cruise missiles strike multiple Ukrainian cities and airfields, including the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv. (CNN)
• A Russian missile strikes the Ministry of Defence intelligence headquarters in Kyiv. (Reuters)
• Russian gunships bombard Hostomel Airport on the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukraine says three helicopters were shot down in defence. Russian Airborne Forces have seized control of the airport. (The Moscow Times) (Reuters)
• An Ukrainian Air Force Antonov An-26 is shot down and crashes in Obukhiv, killing five crew members, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. (Interfax)
• An attack on a military unit in Podilsk kills six civilians and wounds seven more. Another person is killed in the city of Mariupol. Nineteen more people are reported missing. (BBC News)
• Eighteen people are killed in a missile strike on the port city of Odessa. (NDTV)
• Ukraine’s military reports the killing of about 50 Russian soldiers and at least 40 confirmed killed in action among its armed forces during battles in Eastern Ukraine; a senior Ukrainian government official estimates deaths from airstrikes among the Ukrainian troops in the hundreds. (The Wall Street Journal) (Al Jazeera)
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declares martial law across the country in response to the invasion. (TASS)
• The Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko announces a curfew in the capital between 10 pm and 7 am. (Mirror)
• The Russian Armed Forces say its “lightning offensive” has crippled the Ukrainian military and suppressed its air defense systems; the Ukrainian Air Force says it is repelling Russian invaders. (TASS)(BBC News)
• The Russian Defence Ministry says it has destroyed 83 Ukrainian “above-ground military facilities”, including 11 aerodromes. (Reuters)
• Ukraine says it has shot down six Russian warplanes, two helicopters and destroyed dozens of enemy armored vehicles, according to its Joint Centre of Control and Coordination; Russian military representatives deny the claims. (Mil.gov.ua) (First Post)
• Ukraine reports that Russian Navy warships have attacked Snake Island near the Danube Delta. (IndiaTV)
• Russia says two Russian civilian ships have been hit with anti-ship missiles in the Sea of Azov, causing multiple casualties. (Ynet)
• Russia restricts access for civilian vessels on the Sea of Azov; its Black Sea coast remains open. (Reuters)
• A Turkish-owned vessel is bombed off the coast of Odessa, according to Turkey’s Directorate General of Coastal Safety. No casualties are reported. (Daily Sabah)