Defence

NATO is sending extra reinforcements to its member states in Eastern European because of Russia's military troop build-up on the border with Ukraine. The deployment includes frigates, fighter jets and troops for "collective defence". The reinforcements will be stationed in the Baltic Sea and Lithuania, among other places. A Russian invasion of Ukraine now appears increasingly likely, and the US and a number of western countries have evacuated non essential staff from their missions in Kyiv.

The Iranian, Chinese and Russian navies will begin joint naval manoeuvres in the northern Indian Ocean waters on January 21, the semi official Iranian news agency ISNA reported on Thursday (20 January), citing the Iranian army’s press office.

NATO and the European Union led strong condemnation after Government websites of various Ukrainian ministries were hacked on Thursday evening (13 January). The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported this on Friday. According to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, it is too soon to draw conclusions about who could have been behind the attacks. However it is widely suspected that Russia was behind the attacks.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussles, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who chaired the meeting, said: “This was not an easy discussion, but that is exactly why it was so important.” He noted that NATO Allies are ready to meet again with Russia to discuss a number of topics in greater detail and to put concrete proposals on the table. “There are opportunities for constructive engagement which should not be missed, in the interest of security in Europe,” he said.

The Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States - China, France, Russia, US and UK - have issued a joint statement, "On Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races".