NATO countries have established a joint mission in Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told journalists.
"We have decided to create a NATO mission [in Ukraine]," said Sikorski.
Sikorski clarified that this mission does not mean direct NATO involvement in the armed conflict, but rather a coordinated use of NATO's capabilities to support Ukraine.
"This does not mean that we are entering a war, but it means that we will now be able to use NATO's coordinating, training, and planning capabilities to support Ukraine in a more coordinated manner," the minister explained.
Sikorski added that more Ukrainian troops will undergo training in Poland.
Meanwhile, alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine is not asking for the deployment of NATO combat troops.
"We don’t have any plans of having any NATO combat troops inside Ukraine, there have been no requests for that, but the Ukrainians are asking for equipment, for ammunition, for weapons and we are providing that to Ukraine — that doesn’t make NATO allies party to the conflict," Stoltenberg told a press conference.
At the same time, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is working on a proposal to enhance the alliance's coordinating security role in Ukraine, he said.
On Wednesday, Stoltenberg said that the NATO foreign ministers agreed to strengthen the coordinating role of the provision of security assistance to Ukraine.
He also voiced two scenarios for the development of the conflict in Ukraine, including Kiev's defeat.
"Fundamentally there are two possible scenarios: one is that, NATO allies are able to mobilize more support and that Ukraine is able to regain more territory; and the other scenario is that we are not able to do so, and then there is a real risk that Russia will capture even more territory," Stoltenberg said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has noted that any cargoes of arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. According to him, the US and NATO are directly participating in the conflict, including not only through weapons supplies but also by training personnel in the territories of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and other countries.