As you should all be acutely aware, there is a huge kerfuffle in the east of Ukraine, where Russian troops are attempting to establish a Russian province they refer to as “Novorossiya,” or “New Russia.”

This is a problem because the former Russian-backed president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted earlier this year in a revolt by Ukrainians who wanted closer ties with the European Union, the west, and even NATO, but Russia would have none of it since Ukraine shares a border with Russia, and that is too much of a strategic concern for them to give up. Not only that, one of the reasons for the existence of NATO was to defend against a Russian invasion into a member country; to have a NATO member share a border with Russia is unacceptable to the Russian leadership.

Current NATO member countries, used from Wikipedia

(It should be noted that Russia does have some memberships in NATO programs).

Once the president had been ousted in the uprising, pro-Russian rebels took up arms almost immediately and started taking back parts of eastern Ukraine, and personnel and resources allegedly supplied by Russia have been supporting them in their fight. This puts western powers, who back the desire for Ukraine to join them, in direct conflict with Russia who is unwilling to let go of at least eastern Ukraine, and now the reason NATO was created is flaring up once again. Although quite unlikely, it could cause a direct military confrontation between Russia and western powers.

Keeping all that in mind, one of the general purposes of the NATO alliance was to provide security in numbers; if one member of the alliance was attacked, it was considered as if all members were attacked, and there would be a unified response. While they have rarely mobilized troops, they have created a new type of partnership in light of current world events: A cybersecurity force.

It is widely believed that the hacks into J.P. Morgan Chase and Home Depot were the result of Russians attempting to retaliate against the crippling sanctions that have been imposed based on their response in Ukraine, although Russian hacking of US systems is nothing new – everyone hacks everyone.

Because of that, NATO has now decided that their alliance includes cyberspace as well, and member nations have signed an agreement that provides for support, expertise, and response from all members of NATO when any one member is cyberattacked.

Although you wouldn’t know it these days, it is widely stated that future wars will be fought on-line, and even with lasers and robots (don’t laugh, it’s happening) and this agreement appears to be some confirmation of that.