What to know about the NATO military alliance and how it is helping Ukraine

Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — President Joe Biden and his Western counterparts are meeting in Washington this week to mark the 75th anniversary of NATO. The summit, which begins Tuesday, is taking place just as Russia presses its latest offensive in Ukraine. The leaders will focus on ways to reassure Ukraine of NATO’s enduring support and bring some hope to its war-weary citizens that their country might survive. Much of what NATO does, and can do, for Ukraine is misunderstood. The world’s biggest security organization is focused on defending the territory of its 32 member countries and trying to keep the peace in Europe and North America. That also means not being dragged into a war with nuclear-armed Russia.