NATO has taken over the coordination of Western military aid to Ukraine from the US as planned, a source said on Tuesday, the 17th of December, in a move seen as an attempt to protect the support mechanism from NATO sceptic US President-elect Donald Trump, reports Reuters.
The move, which comes after several months of delay, gives NATO a more direct role in the war against the Russian invasion, while keeping its own forces out of it.
However, diplomats acknowledge that this is likely to have a limited impact, given that the US under Trump could still deal a significant blow to Ukraine by cutting its support, as the US supplies Ukraine with most weapons.
Trump, who will take office in January, has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine quickly, but has not specified how he wants to achieve this. He has long criticised the level of US financial and military aid to Ukraine.
The headquarters of NATO’s new mission in Ukraine, called the NATO Security Assistance and Training Mission for Ukraine (NSATU), is located at the US Clay Barracks base in Wiesbaden, Germany.
NATO military headquarters SHAPE announced that its mission in Ukraine is gradually taking over the responsibilities of the US and international organisations.
“NSATU’s work … is focused on putting Ukraine in a strong position to put NATO in a strong position to provide security and prosperity for its billions of citizens in Europe and North America,” said US Army General Christopher G. Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
“This is a good day for Ukraine and a good day for NATO.”
Previously, the US-led Ramstein Group coordinated Western military supplies to Kyiv.
Trump threatened to withdraw from NATO and demanded that the allies spend 3% of the country’s GDP on its military needs, compared to NATO’s 2% target. Since then, European leaders have spoken out in favour of increasing NATO’s target.
Meanwhile, the outgoing Biden administration is trying to send as many weapons as possible to Kyiv, fearing that Trump might cut military supplies to Ukraine.
NSATU will have a total of around 700 personnel, including soldiers stationed at NATO’s military headquarters in SHAPE and logistics centres in Poland and Romania.