Watch Live: Biden holds press conference in Brussels after NATO summit
CBSN
President Biden is holding a press conference in Brussels Thursday after spending the day huddling with NATO and European Council allies in emergency meetings to address ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's war on Ukraine.
The gathering of NATO allies was taking place soon after the State Department formally assessed that Russia has committed war crimes against Ukraine, and as Russian forces struggle to make military progress, defying initial expectations of a swift conquest of the country. Russia has been hammering southern Ukraine with air and artillery strikes, trying to seize a swath of ground to create a land corridor between the occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russian territory.
Four new NATO battlegroups are deploying to Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria — Mr. Biden said in a statement that their deployment "is a strong signal that we will collectively defend and protect every inch of NATO territory." He added that by the time NATO leaders meet for their next summit in June, "we will develop plans for additional forces and capabilities to strengthen NATO's defenses," in order to ensure NATO is prepared for "any challenge" in what is a "new and more dangerous security environment."
