The action is intended to safeguard the support system before Trump takes office again.
According to a source, NATO has assumed responsibility for coordinating US military assistance to Ukraine as scheduled. This action is generally interpreted as an attempt to protect the support system from US President-elect Donald Trump, who is a NATO skeptic.
After several months of delay, the action allows NATO to play a more active role in the conflict against Russia without actually committing its own forces.
Clay Barracks is a US base in the German town of Wiesbaden that serves as the headquarters of NATO’s new Ukraine mission, known as NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU).
It is now fully operating, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. No explanation for the delays has been made public.
The Ukraine mission is starting to take over duties from the United States and other international organizations, according to SHAPE, NATO’s military headquarters.
US Army General Christopher G. Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, stated, “NSATU’s work… is designed to place Ukraine in a position of strength, which puts NATO in a position of strength to keep its one billion people safe and prosperous in both Europe and North America.”
“This is a good day for Ukraine and a good day for NATO.”
However, considering that the US under Trump may still inflict Ukraine a serious blow by cutting its backing, diplomats admit that the transfer to NATO may only have a limited impact because the US is the alliance’s dominant force and supplies the majority of Kiev’s armaments.
Concerns about reducing aid
Western military supplies to Kiev have previously been organized via the US-led Ramstein group, an ad hoc alliance of over 50 countries named after a US air facility in Germany where they initially met.
Trump asked that partners pay 3 percent of their national GDP on their militaries, opposed to NATO’s aim of 2 percent, and threatened to leave NATO during his first term as president.
Amid concerns that Trump would stop sending military equipment to Ukraine, the departing Biden administration in Washington is rushing to send as many weapons to Kiev as possible.
With troops based at NATO’s military headquarters, SHAPE in Belgium, and logistical centers in Poland and Romania, NSATU is expected to have a total of roughly 700 personnel.
Increases in Western military assistance to Ukraine have been denounced by Russia as a threat to a larger conflict.
