NATO Secretary General press conference at Defence Ministers Meeting, 18 OCT 2024 - YouTube

Takeaways:NATO Exercise Steadfast Noon has about another week to go.The NATO Ukraine Command Centre Germany is to be activated this month.It will have about 700 personnel and is located in the Headquarters of U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAE-AF) in Wiesbaden,Germany.The Ukraine Victory Plan was politely listened to without comment.It is possible that Ukraine will be invited to join NATO.Moldova is experiencing hybird warfare waged by Russia to derail its sovereignty,and NATO is doing all it can to build up Moldova's defence capability.

"F-16s will be in Ukraine by the summer", NATO Admiral Rob Bauer in an in-depth interview YouTube

with Rain TV's Ekaterina Kotrikadze and ADL Rob Bauer,Royal Netherlands Navy,Chairman,NATO Military Committee Rain TV is Russian expatriate broadcast journalism.

Estonian PM warns West 'all options must be on the table' in Ukraine - Sky News

NATO Secretary General pre-ministerial press conference at Defence Ministers Meeting,14 FEB 2024

U.S. Army, NATO. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division In Moldova. Training mission - Exercise Rapid Trident

NATO Partner Moldova borders Ukraine,which is to the east.Romanian is the majority language (75%),with a Russian-speaking minority (16%).

Former NATO Commander Warns of Putin's Next Move

According to former Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Wesley Clark,US Army retired,it looks to him as if the Russian armed forces are primed to take swift action against Ukraine.They have been modernised and have likely assured an eager Russian President Vladimir Putin that they can reconstitute part of the Soviet Union in short order if instructed to do so.And Russia has most recently accused the US and Ukraine of planning to use chemical weapons,which could be a pretext concocted to justify a Russian attack on Ukraine.The charge is blatantly false,since the US decades ago canceled its chemical weapons programme.* General Clark,speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer,suggested that Romania,a NATO Ally that borders Ukraine and is located in the Black Sea Region,be reinforced by air to protect against spillover of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.Russian troops,the former 14th Guards Army,illegally occupy part of NATO Partner Moldova,which also borders Romania.He believes the Russian buildup on Ukraine's borders is reaching the point where Russian forces cannot sustain their posture much longer.* Russia has recently made a number of demands that it knows NATO cannot accept,such as forbidding Ukrainian membership in NATO and refraining from deployment of NATO forces in Central and Eastern Europe.So the Kremlin seems to be fabricating a rationale for further aggression against Ukraine.* A senior Biden administration official rejected the demands: We will not compromise on key principles on which European security is based.* Asked by a journalist about Mr.Putin's red lines,President Joseph R. Biden had previously stated: I don't accept any red lines.*

Update:Moldovan Troops Arrive in Ukraine

Moldova has sent the troops to Ukraine it had planned to contribute for Exercise Rapid Trident 17,despite Moldovan pro-Russian President Igor Dodon's objections.Moldova's Prime Minister Pavel Filip dismissed Mr.Dodon's prohibition as invalid.The forces arrived on time for the beginning of the exercise on 8 September 2017.*
The first phase of the two-week drills is the tactical air exercise,which got underway as scheduled.RT 17 is centered on the International Peacekeeping Centre in Yavoriv,Western Ukraine.Moldova has participated in every iteration of the drills to date.

Ukraine to Host Exercise Rapid Trident 17 - Moldova pulls out

US Army Europe has announced that Rapid Trident 17 will be hosted by Ukraine from 8-23 September at the International Peacekeeping Security Centre near Yavoriv,Ukraine,which is close to the city of Lviv and the Polish border in Western Ukraine.About 1800 personnel from 13 nations will participate:Bulgaria,Canada,Estonia,Georgia,Italy,Lithuania,Norway,Poland,Romania,Turkey,Ukraine,the UK and the US.The purpose of the drills is to support combined interoperability among Ukraine,the US,allied and partner nations.NATO partner Moldova withdrew from this year's exercise at the last minute by order of Moldovan President Igor Dodon,who is known to be pro-Russian in his sympathies.*
President Dodon,whose role is mainly symbolic,favours a strategic partnership with Russia;while the Moldovan Government is pro-Europe.Mr.Dodon is also opposed to NATO opening a liaison office in the Moldovan capital Chisinau.The Moldovan Minister of Defence was planning to send 57 troops to RT 17.*
RT 17 will focus on peacekeeping and stability operations to ensure a safe and secure environment,USAREUR said.It will consist of:
1.a multinational,brigade-level,computer-assisted command post exercise
2.integrated with a battalion-level field training exercise;
3.and a platoon-level situational training exercise.
4.There will also be integrated air and ground training near Starokonstantinov,Ukraine,with a focus on aeromedical evacuation;tactical airlift/air drop;logistics planning;and equipment preparation.*
Russian exercise Zapad 17 will coincide with RT 17,running from 16-20 September.Moscow keeps about 2,000 troops in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria,to the disapproval of the Moldovan Government.
In 1992,Russian troops backed the separatists in Transdniestria,who proclaimed their independence from Moldova.No other country has recognised their independence.*
Moldova is located between Romania and Ukraine.