Watch Live: Biden holds press conference in Brussels after NATO summit

President Biden holds a press conference in Brussels on Thursday after spending the day meeting with NATO and European Council allies in emergency meetings to address ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The NATO Allied Meeting was held shortly after the State Department formally assessed it Russia has committed war crimes against Ukraine, and as Russian forces struggle to advance militarily, defying initial expectations of a swift conquest of the country. Russia has been hitting southern Ukraine with airstrikes and artillery attacks, trying to seize a strip of land to create a land corridor between the occupied Crimean peninsula and Russian territory.

Four new ones NATO battlegroups are being deployed in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, Mr. Biden said in a statement that its deployment “is a strong signal that we will collectively defend and protect every inch of NATO territory.” He added that when NATO leaders meet for their next summit in June, “we will develop plans for additional forces and capabilities to strengthen NATO’s defenses,” in order to ensure that NATO is ready. for “any challenge” in what is a “new challenge”. and a more dangerous security environment. “

Mr Biden’s press conference comes ahead of a meeting on Friday with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw. The White House has not yet released a fuller schedule for Mr Biden beyond Thursday, citing security reasons.

Earlier on Thursday, the Biden administration announced the US will accept up to 100,000 displaced Ukrainians, additional sanctions on Russian oligarchs and entities, and the US and its allies plan to redirect liquefied natural gas supplies to Europe in order to reduce its dependence on Russia. Three countries currently supply 70% of Europe’s natural gas: the United States, Qatar and Russia. In 2021, Russia provided 20% of Europe’s supply, but the US has been increasing its exports, supplying Europe with more than half of its natural gas imports in January.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky forced the US and European allies to send fighter jets, tanks and more powerful weapons to deter the Russian air threat in Ukraine, a senior administration official said that the U.S. consulted with allies to provide anti-missile missiles.

NATO allies have agreed to provide assistance and cybersecurity equipment to help protect Ukraine from biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear threats, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday. But he reiterated that NATO will not put boots on the ground in Ukraine.

“We have a responsibility to prevent this conflict from turning into a total war in Europe that involves not only Ukraine and Russia, but also NATO and Russia’s allies,” Stoltenberg said. “That would be more dangerous and more devastating.”

Journalists are likely to put pressure on Mr Biden in private talks on China’s relationship with Russia and what additional defense systems the US and NATO allies will offer Ukraine.

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