NATO meets to talk Ukraine at scene of one of its most controversial decisions
NATO meets on Tuesday to drum up much-needed support for Ukraine.
Foreign ministers from countries in the western military alliance will gather in Romania to discuss how they can assist Ukraine after Russian strikes on its power networks ahead of winter.
But the meet-up location -- Bucharest -- is hugely significant given Russia's war in Ukraine.
It was here in April 2008 that former US President George W. Bush persuaded NATO allies that Ukraine and Georgia would one day join the military alliance.
Moscow invaded Georgia four months later.
Some experts describe the decision in Bucharest as a massive error that left Russia feeling cornered by a seemingly ever-expanding NATO.
NATO counters that it doesn't pressgang countries into joining and that some requested membership to seek protection from Russia — as Finland and Sweden are doing now.
Officials will gather over the next two days at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest.
NATO leaders will likely make fresh pledges of non-lethal support to Ukraine, including fuel, generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jamming devices.
Ukraine's critical infrastructure has been hammered by Russian strikes in recent weeks, knocking out power and water supplies for prolonged periods of time.
Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “trying to use winter as a weapon of war" and that Ukraine should be “prepared for more attacks.”
The Norwegian Refugee Council warned on Friday that Europe, home to the bulk of NATO's 30 members, needed to prepare for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees, saying they faced the grim choice between "fleeing or freezing" this winter.
Individual allies also look set to
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