The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security .

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Russian missile attack that killed at least 35 people in western Ukraine, some 15 miles from NATO member Poland, has stirred anxiety and spurred Poles to rush to passport offices and stockpile essentials amid fears the war could cut off supplies, or even spill over into Poland.

A long line of applicants, unseen for decades, formed Monday outside Warsaw’s main passport office on Krucza Street. Canned food, bottled water, flashlights and batteries filled shoppers’ baskets. People in the street talked of the latest news and their worries for the future.

In the street, outside the passport office, Justyna Winnicka, 44, was filling out the passport form for her 16-year-old daughter, Michalina.

“We want to have a passport because the last one expired and we want to be able to go on vacation, but also want to be able to travel abroad in case something happens here in Poland,” Winnicka told The Associated Press.

Asked if she was afraid because of the fighting just across Poland’s border, she said “Everybody is a little bit afraid today.”

“We all believe that the fact that we are in NATO will protect us in some way, but each of us also remembers the history of World War II and the (failed) alliances of those times,” Winnicka said.

“Things can turn out in different ways. In Poland people are a bit afraid,” she said.

On Sunday, Anna Kwiatkowska, 42, a mother of two, said a friend working for a foreign firm had advised the family to have their passports ready and some dollars, too.

“So I will apply for passports to be done for my children,” said Kwiatkowska, whose children, aged 10 and 8, have not traveled abroad yet.

All this despite the fact that NATO, to which former Eastern bloc nation Poland has belonged since 1999, is strengthening its military presence in eastern Poland, close to the Ukraine border, and stresses that the alliance is fulfilling its task of ensuring Poland’s safety.

A small number of British soldiers have disobeyed orders and may have travelled to Ukraine to fight, the British Army has confirmed.

The soldiers were absent without leave and may have gone to Ukraine "in a personal capacity", the Army said.

"We are actively and strongly encouraging them to return to the UK," a spokesperson added.

All service personnel are banned from travelling to Ukraine until further notice.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has previously said she supports UK civilians who might want to go to Ukraine to help fight, and that it was up to people to make their own decisions.

But the government later clarified that the Foreign Office advises against all travel to Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence says joining the fighting may be against the law and could lead to prosecution.

The Army statement follows a report in the Sun of a 19-year-old from the Coldstream Guards who left his Windsor barracks and bought a ticket to Poland at the weekend.

The Ministry of Defence has not confirmed the report but said soldiers travelling to Ukraine, whether on leave at the time or not, would face disciplinary consequences.

Since the Russian Federation launched, in its words, a "special military operation" on Feb. 24, there has been a steady stream of footage of heartbreaking mass atrocities inflicted by the invading Russian military. Much of the world has looked on in shock. These are unfolding events the world has not seen coming out of Europe since the tragic collapse and disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Many American veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had sleepless nights, filled with intense anxiety from viewing the ongoing atrocities. In response to calls from Ukrainian officials for foreign fighters to join a newly formed foreign legion, many American veterans have shown interest in joining the fight in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered a temporary lift on visas for foreign fighters and has taken to social media to actively encourage everyone with military experience and training willing to join his countrymen to help his nation resist the Russian war effort.

But do American veterans risk losing their earned benefits by joining a foreign army? The answer, sadly, is yes.

A key limitation on the participation of retired United States military personnel is found in the Constitution itself. It lies in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8. This constitutional provision, known in American legal doctrine as the "Emoluments Clause," specifically prohibits any person "holding any office of profit or trust" in the federal government from accepting any gift, emolument, office or title of any kind from any king, prince or foreign state without the consent of Congress.

As interpreted by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, the Emoluments Clause prohibits the receipt of any form of compensation, including consulting fees, gifts, travel expenses, honoraria or salary by all retired military personnel -- officer and enlisted, regular and Reserve -- from a foreign government unless Congress consents. Consent, arguably, is provided by Congress in 37 U.S.C. § 908, which has delegated approval to the military branches and requires advance consent from the relevant service secretary and the secretary of state before accepting anything from any foreign government.

This limitation would apply equally to United States military veterans agreeing to fight for Ukraine, Russia or any other country engaged in any other armed conflict around the world.

The Winter War, also known as the First Soviet-Finnish War, was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. The war began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three-and-a-half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the organisation.

The Soviets made several demands, including that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons—primarily the protection of Leningrad, 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border. When Finland refused, the Soviets invaded. Most sources conclude that the Soviet Union had intended to conquer all of Finland, and use the establishment of the puppet Finnish Communist government and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocols as evidence of this, while other sources argue against the idea of a full Soviet conquest. Finland repelled Soviet attacks for more than two months and inflicted substantial losses on the invaders while temperatures ranged as low as ?43 °C (?45 °F). The battles focused mainly on Taipale in Karelian Isthmus, on Kollaa in Ladoga Karelia and on the Raate Road, in Kainuu, but there were also battles in Salla and Petsamo in Lapland. After the Soviet military reorganized and adopted different tactics, they renewed their offensive in February and overcame Finnish defences.