After reports of a missile strike in Poland, there had been speculation the Polish government might invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty.
NATO officials are likely to meet in Brussels on Wednesday morning to discuss Article 4 Image: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP
Advertisement
Article 4 of the NATO treaty covers the case when a member state feels threatened by another country or a terrorist organization. The 30 member states then start formal consultations at the request of the threatened member. The talks look at whether a threat exists and how to counter it, with decisions arrived at unanimously.
Article 4 does not, however, mean that there will be direct pressure to act.
This consultation mechanism has been triggered several times in NATO's history. For instance, by Turkey one year ago, when Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack from Syria. At that time, NATO decided to consult, but did not take any action.
Chechens fighting for and against Russia in Ukraine
03:15
This browser does not support the video element.
How does NATO Article 4 differ from Article 5?
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland triggered Article 4. Along with Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, those countries are part of the "eastern flank" of NATO, which has been reinforced with thousands of troops from NATO members.
Article 4 is different from Article 5 of the NATO Charter. The latter lays out the military assistance by the entire alliance, should one of the member states get attacked. The only time that Article 5 was used was in 2001 after the al-Qaeda attacks on the US, which killed more than 3,000 people. They became known as the 9/11 attacks. When the US then attacked Afghanistan, NATO sent a mission alongside.
The NATO treaty only applies to member states. Given that Ukraine is not part of the alliance, it can trigger neither Article 4 nor 5.
The civilian toll of Russian attacks on Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin denies that his army is targeting civilians in the invasion of Ukraine. But the facts contradict him.
Image: Maksim Levin/REUTERS
More than 5,500 civilians killed
"The Russian army does not strike at civilian facilities," Vladimir Putin said in June. But independent observers disagree. UN figures estimate that, as of August 22, the civilian toll of Russian attacks had reached 5,500 deaths and 7,800 injuries since the war began. Here, a destroyed shopping center in Kremenchuk on June 27.
Image: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo/picture alliance
Chaplyne: Bombing kills 25 civilians
A huge crater in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chaplyne, population 3,800, which was targeted in a Russian attack on August 24. The Defense Ministry in Moscow later said a weapons transport train had been hit. But, according to the Ukrainian railway, 25 civilians, including two children, were also killed.
Image: Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/IMAGO
Vinnytsia: Rocket attack kills 28
With a missile attack on July 14, the Russian army aimed to hit the "House of Officers" in Vinnytsia, where "preparations by Ukrainian armed forces were underway," said Evgeny Varganov, a member of Russia's permanent UN mission. As a result, 28 people died in the city southwest of Kyiv, including three children and three officers. More than 100 people were reportedly injured.
Image: State Emergency Service of Ukraine/REUTERS
Chasiv Yar: Strike on apartment building leaves 48 dead
On the evening of July 9, the small eastern Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar came under fire. Uragan multiple-rocket launchers took aim at residential areas, media reported. A five-story apartment building was hit particularly hard, with 48 bodies later recovered from the rubble.
Image: Nariman El-Mofty/AP/dpa/picture alliance
Serhiivka: 21 dead in cruise missile attack
At least 21 people were killed in a missile attack in Serhiivka on July 1. The town near the Ukrainian port city of Odesa was apparently hit with cruise missiles by night, injuring at least 35, Amnesty International reported after on-site investigations. Serhiivka is a popular resort town, especially among Russian tourists.
Image: Maxim Penko/AP/picture alliance
Kramatorsk: 61 dead in train station attack
Horrific images from Kramatorsk went around the world on April 8, after several Russian missiles hit the crowded train station in the eastern Ukrainian city. Some 61 people were killed, including seven children. Ballistics experts found that the missiles were fired from the Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine.
Image: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel/dpa/picture alliance
Bucha: 1,316 bodies found
Bucha has become emblematic of the Russian army's brutal war crimes in Ukraine. When Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv suburb on March 30, numerous corpses lay in Yablunska Street. A total of 1,316 bodies were found in and around the city, with international investigative teams citing evidence of civilian executions by Russian soldiers. The Kremlin denies the reports of a massacre.
Image: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
Mykolaiv: 36 dead in attack on government building
On March 29, an airstrike hit the Mykolaiv regional administration building, killing 36. The central part of the building was completely destroyed from the first to the ninth floor, with only fragments left standing. The explosion also damaged several other nearby residential and administrative buildings.
On March 16, a bombing destroyed a theater in the center of Mariupol where civilians were sheltering. The word "children," written in huge white letters both in front of and behind the building, did not deter the attack. The city reported that 300 people died. However, an AP investigation in May estimated that the number may have been closer to 600.
Image: Pavel Klimov/REUTERS
Mariupol: Four killed in hospital bombing
A Russian air strike destroyed a children's hospital with a maternity ward in Mariupol on March 9. At least four people died, including a pregnant woman and her baby. At least 17 were injured. Though Russia's Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of a "staged provocation," top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called the bombing a "war crime."
Image: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/picture alliance
Kharkiv: 24 die in government building attack
A missile that hit a regional administrative building in Kharkiv killed 24, including passersby, on March 1. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry later released a surveillance video that showed the powerful explosion in the city's central Freedom Square, which was heavily damaged in the attack.
Image: Pavel Dorogoy/AP/picture alliance
ICC launches war crimes investigations
As of August 26, more than 29,000 war crimes had been committed since the war began, according to Ukrainian officials. Independent investigations are underway, and the International Criminal Court has sent teams of experts to gather evidence. Under the Geneva Conventions, deliberate attacks on civilians are war crimes. Russia, however, does not recognize this part of the treaties.
