NATO seeks ways to "protect military aid to Ukraine from Trump" – WSJ

NATO is preparing a series of measures aimed at maintaining and strengthening its long-term support for Ukraine amid growing support on the European right wing for former President Donald Trump's election victory, including plans to send a senior civilian official to Kyiv and establish a new command in Germany to coordinate military assistance and training for Ukrainian troops.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, citing US and NATO officials

Details: All of these steps will be announced at a summit in Washington next week.

The measures are intended to support Ukraine's prospects of joining the Alliance without offering it membership. They come amid a surge in support for right-wing political forces in Europe and the growing possibility that former President Donald Trump could return to the White House and reduce American support for Ukraine.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is also establishing a new command in Wiesbaden, Germany, to coordinate the provision of military equipment to Kyiv and training for Ukrainian troops.

The operation, which will be called NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, will be staffed by nearly 700 US and other military personnel from 32 member states. It will take over much of the mission that the US military has been carrying out since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The newspaper writes that the new initiatives have been in the offing for several months, but they are gaining new urgency after President Joe Biden's weak performance in last week's televised debate with Trump and Trump's complaints about the amount of money the US has spent on Ukraine.

Quote from Ivo Daalder, US Ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013: "A big reason for the change is to Trump-proof the assistance effort to Ukraine. Rather than having Washington in charge of managing the training and assistance, NATO will be in charge. So even if the U.S. reduces or withdraws support for the effort, it won’t be eliminated."

Current and former US officials have said that these steps will allow the alliance to better coordinate Western efforts to provide military support to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression. The plan also aims to make Ukraine's armed forces more similar to those in NATO.

The WSJ noted that all the alliance leaders will attend the NATO summit, which will highlight Ukrainian initiatives. The event will take place in Washington, where the treaty establishing the Alliance was signed 75 years ago. The treaty's purpose was to protect the Allies from threats from Moscow, a mission that NATO is once again taking on. 

Allies hope that the summit will also result in an agreement on an annual financial commitment to military support for Ukraine, although the terms are still being negotiated.

It is stressed that while many NATO members believe that the alliance should invite Ukraine to join, starting a process that could take years, the United States and Germany are set to oppose such a move at next week's summit.

Under initiatives already agreed upon for final approval at the summit, non-NATO staff will work alongside Americans in the new NATO command to match donations of military equipment with Ukraine's needs and coordinate deliveries. They will also coordinate training for the Ukrainian military to ensure that what is offered meets Kyiv's needs. The officials said NATO staff would not conduct any training themselves.

Quote: "The new steps also signal an important shift in alliance posture. NATO initially kept its distance from Ukraine’s military campaign to avoid accusations it was a party to the conflict. The organisational changes mean it is now prepared to take a more substantial role in helping Kyiv fight Russia."

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