NATO: Response to the Crisis in Ukraine and Security Concerns in Central and Eastern Europe

Russia€s recent military incursions into Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea have caused observers and policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Members of Congress, to reassess the security situation in Europe and the role of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in upholding European security. The security concerns of NATO€s Central and Eastern European member states and non-NATO member states such as Moldova and Ukraine are of particular concern.

NATO€s member states have strongly condemned Russian actions in Ukraine and have taken steps aimed both at reassuring allies and partners in Central and Eastern Europe and at deterring further Russian aggression. These include demonstrations of support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity; actions to demonstrate the alliance€s commitment to the defense of its Central and Eastern European member states; and measures aimed at rebuking Russia. NATO member states have said they will continue to conduct previously planned military exercises in Ukraine and elsewhere in the region.

The United States has been a key driver behind the NATO response and has taken additional military measures intended to reassure its allies and partners in Central and Eastern Europe. These include the deployment of U.S. fighter jets to Poland and the Baltic states, U.S. naval vessels to the Black Sea, and Marines to Romania. The United States has supplied the Ukrainian government with some nonlethal military assistance, but has thus far ruled out providing lethal military aid.

Although these actions have been welcomed by supporters of the United States and NATO, some analysts and allied governments have called for a more concerted military response. Among other things, critics have called for more robust forward or permanent deployment of U.S. and NATO forces in Central and Eastern Europe; additional military exercises in the region; and additional military assistance to the Ukrainian government, including military training and anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and other arms.

The U.S. Congress has played an active role in guiding the U.S. response to the crisis in Ukraine, including by authorizing $150 million in financial assistance and a $1 billion loan guarantee to the Ukrainian government and supporting sanctions against Russia (P.L. 113-95). However, some Members of Congress have called on the Obama Administration and NATO to take additional military action to reassure allies in Central and Eastern Europe and deter Russia. In addition, some Members have called for a more resolute demonstration of NATO€s commitment to enlargement, including to Georgia, a former republic of the Soviet Union, with which Russia had a brief military conflict in 2008. For example, the proposed Forging Peace through Strength in Ukraine and the Transatlantic Alliance Act (H.R. 4433), introduced on April 9, 2014, calls for additional NATO and U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and calls for immediate NATO membership for Montenegro and the granting of a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia.

This report addresses the NATO and U.S. military response to the crisis in Ukraine. It does not discuss political, economic, or energy policy responses. For information on these and other aspects of the crisis response, see CRS Report RL33460, Ukraine: Current Issues and U.S. Policy, by Steven Woehrel.