NATO's ability to deter Russia has taken a huge hit as trust within the alliance erodes. European allies and Canada are investing billions to support Ukraine and boost defense budgets.

Danish military veterans and others staged a protest march against U.S. President Donald Trump's recent comments regarding NATO members and Greenland.

The flags were outside the U.S. embassy in Denmark to honor Danish soldiers.

Trump's NATO challenges push European defense spending pledges, but analysts say continent still lacks command experience to operate independently.

The operation, Steadfast Dart, comes as President Trump has been accused of undermining the alliance and will be watched closely to see how well the allies manage without their most important partner.

By Andrew Gray and Phil Stewart BRUSSELS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not expected to attend a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels next month, two sources said, the second time in a row that a top Trump administration official skips a gathering of the military alliance.

If anyone thinks here ... that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming. You can’t,” Mark Rutte told E.U. lawmakers in Brussels.

Mark Rutte, the secretary general of the alliance, told members of the European Parliament that President Trump was “doing a lot of good stuff.”

Sebastian Halmagean, a gunner from Hamilton, Ontario, died in Latvia.

The longstanding Western alliance is far more likely to evolve and accommodate US demands for a strengthened Europe.

Trump issues ultimatum to Iran as U.S. naval fleet positions off coast. NATO ambassador says Iran must abandon nuclear ambitions, stop killing protesters.