Would an attack on NATO troops in Ukraine trigger Article 5 of the Alliance? (Video) :: Warfare :: www.technologijos.lt

Article 5, reflecting the principle of collective defense of NATO’s 32 members, provides that an armed attack against one or more members is considered an attack against all.

However, as more and more people talk about the involvement of NATO troops in the war in Ukraine, the question arises: Would an attack on NATO troops in Ukraine trigger Article 5 of the Alliance?

“If the soldiers of a NATO member state participate in collective self-defense in favor of Ukraine during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and are attacked by another party to the conflict during the battle in the conflict zone, this is not a case of Article 5,” – according to the report of the expert group of the German parliament, which was seen by the DPA agency.

According to an unpublished document, Article 5 of NATO can only be invoked if member states of the US-led military bloc are attacked on or over their territory.

“The military involvement of French ground forces in favor of Ukraine would be based on the right of collective self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and would therefore be permissible under international law,” the document states.

Experts noted that the deployment of ground troops from one NATO country to Ukraine would not automatically make all other members parties to the conflict.

“If a NATO member state acts unilaterally – that is, not within the framework of a previously decided NATO operation and outside NATO’s military command structures – neither NATO as a whole nor other NATO partner states will become parties to the conflict,” the document reads.

At the same time, the document states that sending NATO troops to Ukraine is acceptable under international law.