18 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review leadership role, building international partnerships to tackle AMR and other risks to global health security. The resurgence of state-based threats 3.18 Competition between states, and the threats they pose to each other, can have a significant impact on our security and our interests. At the extreme, this risks drawing the UK and our allies into military conflict. Regional conflict and instability can also trigger pressure for the evacuation of British nationals. At the less extreme end, uncertainty can affect our prosperity and the prosperity and security of some of our closest allies. Russian behaviour 3.19 At the NATO summit in Lisbon in 2010, we committed to work with our Allies to build a partnership with Russia. But since then Russia has become more aggressive, authoritarian and nationalist, increasingly defining itself in opposition to the West. The illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and continuing support to separatists in eastern Ukraine through the use of deniable, hybrid tactics and media manipulation have shown Russia’s willingness to undermine wider international standards of cooperation in order to secure its perceived interests. 3.20 Russia is mid-way through a programme of major investment to modernise and upgrade its military, including its nuclear forces. It has also increased its nuclear exercises and rhetoric, with threats to base nuclear forces in Kaliningrad and Crimea. Its military activity around the territory of our Allies, and close to UK airspace and territorial waters, is designed to test our responses. Russia’s behaviour will continue to be hard to predict, and, though highly unlikely, we cannot rule out the possibility that it may feel tempted to act aggressively against NATO Allies. 3.21 Our commitment to collective defence and security through NATO remains as strong as ever. The 2014 Wales Summit, under UK leadership, delivered an effective and united response to Russian behaviour. NATO’s commitments include the Allies’ defence investment pledge and the Readiness Action Plan, which respond to the challenges posed by Russia and their strategic implications, as well as to risks and threats to the south of Europe. With NATO Allies we have made the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force a reality and our contributions to the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltics will remain important to deter threats. At UK urging, the EU has imposed sanctions designed to change Russian behaviour. 3.22 Russia is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and notwithstanding our differences, we will seek ways of cooperating and engaging with Russia on a range of global security issues, such as the threat from ISIL. Wider state competition 3.23 Foreign intelligence agencies continue to engage in hostile activity against the UK and our interests, and against many of our close allies. This includes human, technical and cyber operations at home and overseas to compromise the UK Government, diplomatic missions, government-held information and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI); attempts to influence government policy covertly for their benefit; and operations to steal commercial secrets and disrupt the private sector. Compromise or damage from these attacks may not be immediately visible.