Nato's top generals have been asked to redesign the bloc's defences to deter further military aggression by Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
The bloc's 30 countries will tell their military commanders to draw up a new posture to reflect what Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called a "new reality for our security" at a summit of Nato defence ministers on Wednesday.
Mr Stoltenberg said the long-term shift in strategy should include stronger missile defence and more battle-ready equipment positioned on Europe's eastern flank to prepare for a Russian attack.
In the shorter term, the US-led alliance already has hundreds of thousands of troops on heightened alert to back up its promise that it will defend "every inch" of its territory against Russia.
But senior figures including Mr Stoltenberg rejected the idea put forward by Poland that an armed Nato peacekeeping mission could enter Ukraine to provide humanitarian aid.
The suggestion by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland’s deputy prime minister and chairman of its ruling party, failed to shift Nato's stance that donating weapons and other equipment to Ukraine was permissible but that direct involvement in the war comes with too high a risk of a wider war with Russia.
Nato has likewise refused Ukraine’s demands to establish a no-fly zone over the country for fear that shooting down Russian planes would provoke a wider European conflict. That same concern helped to sink another proposal of Poland's, to provide a fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 jets, in a transfer the US described as untenable.
"Of course, we support peace efforts. But we have no plans of deploying Nato troops on the ground in Ukraine," said Mr Stoltenberg of the Polish peacekeeping proposal.
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Smoke rising in Kyiv, which mayor Vitali Klitschko says faces a 'difficult and dangerous moment' as Russian forces step up strikes. AFP -
Pope Francis meets visitors holding the Ukrainian flag during his weekly general audience in the Vatican. AFP -
An anti-war protester demonstrates against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of the Nato headquarters in Brussels. AFP -
A poster in Saint Petersburg carries the letter Z, a symbol of support for the invasion, and reads: "We are proud of Russia! We are not ashamed!" AFP -
Amid the Ukraine war, there's time for a seaside stroll in Odesa. Reuters -
A child who fled from Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office in Brussels. EPA -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation as he appears via videoconference to make an address to Canada's Parliament. AP -
A woman walks with a bicycle next to a building damaged during the conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha, Donetsk region. Reuters -
A firefighter outside a destroyed apartment building in a residential area of Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers pay tribute to Col Valeriy Gudz, who was killed in battle against Russian troops, at a cemetery in the town of Boryspil. AP -
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a housing block hit by shelling in the Sviatoshynsky district, in western Kyiv. AFP -
Two people were killed as a series of powerful explosions rocked residential districts in Kyiv just hours before talks between Ukraine and Russia were set to resume. AFP -
The Met Opera and Chorus performs during 'A Concert For Ukraine' in New York City. AFP -
A worker welds metal at the Interpipe Steel plant in Dnipro, Ukraine. Hundreds of Interpipe’s 10,000 employees have joined the fight against Russia. AP -
A woman is rescued by firefighters from her apartment in a burning building that was hit by artillery shells in Kyiv. AP -
Rescuers work at a building damaged by an air strike, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
A woman who fled Ukraine to Belgium waits outside an immigration office, in Brussels. EPA -
Cars stuck at the Irpin River bridge, as Russia unleashes a barrage of air strikes on cities across Ukraine. AFP -
A firefighter looks at a section of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile on a street in the separatist Donetsk region. The Russian military said 20 civilians were killed by a ballistic missile launched by the Ukrainian forces. AP -
Musician Davide Martello plays a piano near the Ukrainian border in Medyka, Poland. More than 1.76 million people have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border into Poland, the Polish Border Guard reported on March 14. EPA -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, snaps a selfie with a wounded man during a visit at a military hospital after fighting in the Kyiv region.AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers carry rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles as they walk towards the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Troops carry an elderly woman on a stretcher across a makeshift bridge as Ukrainians flee Irpin. AFP -
Irina Moprezova, 54, stands in front of a house that was damaged by an air strike in Irpin. AFP -
The flags of Russia and Ukraine are projected on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, which a representative from the Jerusalem Municipality said is a show of support for diplomatic dialogue between the countries. Reuters -
A person holds a Ukrainian flag during an anti-war demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier takes cover as people flee Irpin. AFP -
Ukrainians shelter in an underground train station during the day in Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman walks carefully with his weapon in the city of Irpin, near Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian people flee the city of Irpin, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen carry an elderly woman on a stretcher from the city of Irpin. AFP -
A girl plays games on her tablet inside a subway carriage being used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv. AFP -
A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an air strike on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP -
Ukrainian troops with a Javelin anti-tank missile on the front line in the northern Kyiv region. Reuters -
A woman carries her dog during an evacuation in Irpin. Reuters -
A Ukrainian woman takes shelter in a metro station during the day in Kyiv. EPA -
A member of the Ukrainian armed forces on patrol in Irpin. Reuters -
A Ukrainian fighter takes cover behind a car in the city of Irpin. AFP -
Firefighters at work after air strikes hit residential buildings in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine. AFP -
A man wounded in an air strike is helped by medical staff in Novoiavorivsk, western Ukraine. Getty -
The ruins of the Ukraine Hotel after recent shelling in Chernihiv. EPA
Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who addressed Wednesday's summit in Brussels, has called for the alliance to simplify bureaucracy and speed up sending weapons to the besieged country.
Nato credits its supplies of equipment with slowing down the Russian advance, thereby improving Ukraine's bargaining position in peace negotiations.
But it is also looking beyond the immediate conflict at the question of how it prepares for what senior leaders have described as a new era of hostility with Russia.
Sketching out his proposals for a rethink of Nato's defences in Eastern Europe, Mr Stoltenberg said the alliance "must reset our collective defence and deterrence for the longer term".
On land, this should include "substantially more forces" in the eastern part of the bloc, he said, with troops at higher readiness and better equipped.
In the sky, Nato should strengthen its integrated air and missile defence, while sea defences should consist of carrier strike groups, submarines and "significant numbers of combat ships on a persistent basis", he said.
Nato forces "should also train and exercise more often and in greater numbers".
The proposal by Mr Kaczynski emerged from his visit to Kyiv with the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, in what Ukraine hailed as a courageous act of solidarity.
It was the first visit by such a delegation since Russia invaded Ukraine. The three leaders were safely back in Poland on Wednesday morning, a Polish government spokesman said.
Defence ministers arriving for the talks in Brussels said successful peace negotiations were the best way forward as they reacted coolly to Poland's peacekeeping proposal.
Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch Defence Minister, said it was “very difficult to see a peace mission now with a war going on”, with Russian troops directly attacking and besieging major cities in Ukraine.
“We’re still in too early stages to talk about that. First, we have to have a ceasefire. We have to see withdrawal from Russia,” she said.
Luxembourg’s Francois Bausch offered a “very clear no” to Poland’s suggestion, instead calling for Russia to return to the negotiating table.
Estonia’s Defence Minister Kalle Laanet said he was open to Poland’s idea, which he described as one of the possibilities for helping Ukraine.
But he said any such peacekeeping mission should be supported by the UN Security Council, where Russia is a permanent member and has a veto.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded on Tuesday that his country was unlikely to join Nato any time soon and said he was looking for other types of security guarantees.
But Mr Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the door was still open for Ukraine to apply and that it would then be up to the 30 member countries to decide.
