NATO Has Half a Million Troops at ‘High Readiness’

(UnitedVoice.com) – When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, NATO began warning about the possibility of war with the adversarial nation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the expansion of the international organization a sticking point in the conflict. It appears NATO is preparing for a possible battle with the former Soviet nation.

On July 19, NATO updated its information sheet about relations with Russia and Ukraine. Among the frequently asked questions was one about what the organization is doing to enhance the defenses of its member nations and citizens. According to NATO, it “has 500,000 troops at high readiness working across all domains — land, sea, air, cyber and space.”

Farah Dakhlallah, a spokesperson for NATO, told CNN that the international organization has “undergone the most significant transformation in [its] collective defense in a generation” since 2014. Daklhallah confirmed there are half a million troops ready to defend NATO nations if the need arises.

The spokesperson explained that each country recruits and trains its troops. About a third of the nations “have some form of compulsory military service,” and other countries are now trying to determine whether they want to implement drafts. Dakhlallah dismissed any possibility that NATO would “prescribe mandatory military service.” He said it’s important that each NATO nation continue to have militaries that are capable of protecting the organization.

Putin has demanded Ukraine promise to never join NATO if it wants to end the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused those terms. In the update, the organization confirmed that Ukraine would join NATO one day. World leaders also affirmed that at the 2024 Washington Summit held in Washington, DC. They said Ukraine is on an “irreversible path to NATO membership,” but the country has to meet certain conditions first.

The war in Ukraine is approaching its third anniversary. Putin and Zelenskyy have stopped negotiating, and the West is still providing Ukraine with aid.