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What did Russia demand of NATO by 19 December 2021?
Summary
A look back at the security picture in Ukraine as it stood on 19 December 2021, after reports from 17 December.
What was the security picture in and around Ukraine on 19 December 2021? Two reports from 17 December, two days earlier, framed it: one from the front line in Donbas, the other about Russian demands on NATO.
A death near Mariupol
On 17 December, a Ukrainian soldier was killed and another was injured in the war in Donbas. Pro-Russian separatist forces had targeted Ukrainian positions near Mariupol with rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.
Moscow's demands on NATO
The same day, Russia demanded that NATO end all military activity in Eastern Europe and never admit Ukraine as a member. Moscow said it wanted a legally binding guarantee to end further eastward expansion of the alliance.
The other demands were specific. They included a Russian veto on Ukrainian membership in NATO, the removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe, and the withdrawal of multinational NATO battalions from Poland and the Baltics.
Together, the reports showed fighting continuing on the ground in Donbas while Russia put its demands on NATO in writing-style terms: legally binding, and covering several countries beyond Ukraine.
