Nato Building 10,000-Strong Force to Counter Russia over Ukraine

Nato is reportedly putting together a 10,000-strong force drawn from at least seven countries amid the escalating tensions over Russia and Ukraine.

The report comes a day after Ukraine sought to join Nato to deal with the ongoing crisis in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

According to a report in the Financial Times, the special force will be led by Britain and soldiers from Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway and the Netherlands will form part of it. Canada has also reportedly given its consent to join the force but the modalities remain unclear.

Prime Minister David Cameron is set to make a formal announcement of the mobilisation proposal at the upcoming Nato summit on 4 September.

The force will include ground troops and personnel drawn from aerial and naval units. The force would be strengthened if needed.

The goal of the latest move is to "create a fully functioning, division-sized force for rapid deployment and regular, frequent exercises," reported the FT.

Western powers and Nato have constantly ruled out any military action against Moscow despite Nato's latest assessment that hundreds of Russian troops have crossed the Ukrainian border.

However, Nato and other nations have warned Russia that it would face consequences if it does not scale down its military build-up near Ukraine.

"We need to end the idea of different zones of security in Europe. We need to be talking about prepositioning, regular rotation of troops and making it very clear that we do not accept that the eastern Europeans are in some different category of membership of Nato," Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute was quoted as saying.

Don't play with 'nuclear-armed Russia'

Adding to the volatile situation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against confronting a "nuclear-armed Russia".

"I want to remind you that Russia is one of the most powerful nuclear nations. This is a reality, not just words. We must always be ready to repel any aggression against Russia and [potential enemies] should be aware... it is better not to come against Russia as regards a possible armed conflict," the Russian leader told a gathering of young men.