Biden, other leaders to join emergency NATO summit as Russia hits Kyiv

But the 30-member organization, formed to provide collective security against the Soviet Union, is also being tested more than ever as it charts a path forward while being pulled into a face-off with Russia.

What is NATO, and what is its role in the Russia-Ukraine crisis?

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that Russia has “shattered” peace in Europe, and he called for an emergency summit to chart next steps.

“The Kremlin’s aim is to reestablish its sphere of influence. Rip up the global rules that have kept us all safe for decades, and subvert the values that we hold dear,” Stoltenberg said Thursday. “This is the new normal for our security.”

Friday’s summit will bring together NATO members, plus partners Sweden and Finland, to discuss what comes next.

Ukraine is not a NATO member — and the alliance’s refusal to rule out future membership is something that Russia has used to justify attacks — but the organization sees the crisis as a threat to Europe as a whole.

Biden stressed Thursday that the United States will not send troops to Ukraine. “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies,” he said.

James Heappey, who serves as Britain’s parliamentary undersecretary of state for the armed forces, said Friday that British and NATO troops should not play an active role in Ukraine because “people miscalculate, and things escalate unnecessarily,” according to Reuters.

The question now is what role the alliance should play. On Friday, members are expected to discuss plans to send additional troops to the alliance’s eastern flank.

What NATO members have sent Ukraine so far

Biden said Thursday that he has authorized additional forces to deploy to Germany and Poland, but he has not offered details, nor has NATO.

After an emergency meeting Thursday, NATO’s political decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, said the alliance may bolster its eastern flank in the days and weeks ahead, but it declined to spell when or where.

As NATO hashes out plans, there is likely to be tension between Eastern European states that want the alliance to do more and other members, such as France, that tend to push for European self-defense.

A group of Eastern European countries — including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania — called this week for alliance consultations under Article 4 of the NATO’s charter, which allows any member to request a meeting when its territorial integrity or political independence is threatened.