NATO and Ukraine to Open Joint Training Center in Poland

NATO has announced that it is joining forces with Ukraine to open a joint training center in Poland.

Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, said during a press conference in Brussels on Thursday that the new center would "allow Ukraine to share lessons learned from Russia's war" and "create a structure for Ukrainian forces to learn and train alongside their allied counterparts."

"Today, we decided to create a new NATO-Ukraine joint analysis, training and education center in Bydgoszcz, Poland," said Stoltenberg. "This will benefit them and us, and also create a framework to train alongside NATO allied troops."

Stoltenberg, who was attending a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, said that additional details about the facility would likely be available later in the year, calling the agreement reached on Thursday "the political decision."

"We will implement that decision in the coming weeks and months," Stoltenberg said. "Today's decision is the start of the process....Our experts are now working on the details, and I expect NATO leaders will take the final decision later on this year."

Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine was launched in part due to Russian President Vladimir Putin's concerns about the expansion of the strategic alliance. NATO has expanded regardless, with Finland joining last year and neighbor Sweden likely to follow suit soon.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, said the following on the new training center in a statement emailed to Newsweek on Wednesday: "Such actions of NATO do not promote security on the continent. On the contrary, they increase tensions."

During a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, last year, NATO reaffirmed that Ukraine would eventually become a member. It is very unlikely that Ukraine will join during the war, as all NATO members would instantly be obligated to fight Russia, effectively triggering a world war.

Tensions along Russia's border with NATO nations have recently been rising amid a massive training exercise along the border and an increased focus on defense from countries including Poland and the Baltic states.

NATO leaders have increasingly warned that Russia will eventually attack the alliance, concerns that Putin has dismissed as "complete nonsense." However, Moscow has also made recent moves in preparation for a potential conflict.

It was reported this week that Russia carried out drills in multiple regions to simulate the restoration capabilities of military airfields if they come under "massive attacks" from NATO forces.

Putin allies have repeatedly suggested that Moscow could strike members of the alliance for providing Ukraine with assistance. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called NATO members assisting Ukraine "legitimate military targets" in December 2022.

Stoltenberg said on Thursday that NATO was operating in a "deteriorating security environment" and could not "take peace for granted," while stressing that he did not "see an imminent military threat against the alliance."

Update 02/21/24, 9:52 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include a statement from Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for Putin.