Ukraine is to receive a further 40 billion euros in military aid from NATO states. Now there is a first number – and also details that should actually remain under wraps.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sees alliance states on track with their military aid promises for Ukraine, which is attacked by Russia. “I can announce today that the NATO allies have pledged military support worth 20.9 billion euros for Ukraine in the first half of 2024,” said Rutte shortly before the start of a two-day meeting of defense ministers in Brussels this Thursday. In addition, the Allies are well on the way to fulfilling their obligations for the rest of the year.
Rutte was alluding to the annual goal agreed upon at the NATO summit in Washington in the summer. It plans to provide Ukraine with military aid totaling at least 40 billion euros in 2023.
NATO has to keep secret how the total of 20.9 billion euros is broken down by member state because of resistance from allies. In alliance circles it was said that in absolute terms the USA and Germany were once again the largest donors in the first half of the year. The USA made support commitments of around 7.7 billion euros in the six months, Germany made 3.5 billion euros.
Northern and Eastern European NATO states in particular repeatedly point out that support services must be viewed in relation to economic strength. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson pointed out on Wednesday that the group of eight Nordic and Baltic countries is now surpassing Germany in its commitments for military aid.
However, the focus of internal NATO criticism is primarily on states such as France, Italy and Spain. So far, they have only spent a comparatively very small proportion of their economic power on military support for Ukraine.
Date notice from the NATO NATO website
Source: Stern
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