MADRID, 30 June 2022, (TON): Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was meeting in Madrid “in the midst of the most serious security crisis we have faced since the Second World War.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered Europe’s peace and driven NATO to pour troops and weapons into eastern Europe on a scale not seen since the Cold War.

Members of the alliance have also sent billions in military and civilian aid to Ukraine. The 30 NATO leaders will hear directly from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is likely to ask them to do even more when he addresses the gathering by video link.

Money could be a sensitive issue just nine of NATO’s 30 members currently meet the organization’s target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.

The war has already triggered a big increase in NATO’s forces in the east, and allies are expected to agree at the summit to increase the strength of the alliance’s rapid reaction force nearly eightfold, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops by next year.