NATO member countries will announce its launch at the summit in Washington and hope that Ukraine will be satisfied with this decision.
Points of attention
- NATO offers Ukraine a new headquarters for the coordination of military assistance at the anniversary summit in Washington.
- The NSATU mission will unite under its auspices the activities of member countries that provide various types of assistance and training to the Ukrainian military.
- The new mission is considered a "bridge" to Ukraine's possible membership in NATO and is aimed at ensuring the country's security in wartime conditions.
- Successful implementation of the mission will require Ukraine to carry out reforms to fight corruption and strengthen democracy.
- The new mission plan is supported by all NATO countries, which hope to bring Ukraine and the Alliance closer together to support the country in the war with Russia.
What is known about the new mission to help Ukraine from NATO
NATO will offer Ukraine a new headquarters to manage its military aid at the 75th-anniversary summit in Washington.
The New York Times writes about this concerning officials. It will assure the Alliance's commitment to the country's security. The agreement will be called a "bridge" to Kyiv's possible membership in the Alliance.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fervently hoped that NATO would offer his country membership negotiations at the summit, which will last from July 9 to 11. Instead, US and NATO officials said that the Alliance has agreed to establish a mission in Germany to coordinate long-term aid to Ukraine. The move should send a powerful signal of allied commitment to both Kyiv and Moscow, which hopes the West will try to support the war.
Since the mission will take place under the auspices of NATO, it is planned to be launched and maintained even if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November.
The Biden administration and NATO officials floated the idea of giving something serious to Kyiv at the summit, even if now is not the time to talk about Ukraine joining the Alliance. Alliance just said that the country was still at war, which could make NATO an active participant in hostilities. President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Ukraine must implement essential reforms to reduce corruption and improve democracy and the rule of law.
The NYT notes that the new mission and its commitments will likely satisfy Zelenskyy. A year ago in Vilnius, he expressed his displeasure when Ukraine was not offered an explicit schedule for membership negotiations.
The new mission will unite under the aegis of the current "capability coalition" of countries that provide various aspects of military assistance to Ukraine, such as air defence, artillery, F-16 fighter jets, weapons and training.
According to US and NATO sources, she will also coordinate training Ukrainian military personnel in allied countries and the long-term bilateral security agreements that various countries have signed with Ukraine.
The NSATU mission
Officials said all NATO countries support the creation of the mission, which will be announced at the summit.
Earlier, each country provided aid to Ukraine, mostly separately. Officials briefed on the plan said bringing the main lines of assistance and training under one command will streamline the flow and make it more coherent.
The mission, called NATO Security and Training Assistance to Ukraine (NSATU), will work to reduce duplication and complications associated with the different types of weapons being sent to Ukraine.
According to US and NATO officials, one example is France's recent offer to donate an unspecified number of Mirage fighter jets. The Mirage is as complex an aircraft as the F-16. It requires different training, spare parts, and maintenance, which could harm Ukrainian capabilities.
The mission will be based at a US military facility in Wiesbaden, Germany, and will be led by a general — likely an American — who will report directly to the top NATO and US general in Europe, Christopher Cavoli.
Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO who was briefed on the plan, said putting the mission under General Cavoli would protect it from any political changes in Washington.
The new mission will also include an existing US team stationed in Wiesbaden to handle arms shipments and train personnel. It will work in parallel with the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, which is under the leadership of the US and coordinates the supply of weapons to Ukraine from approximately 50 countries, not only from the 32 NATO member states. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who created the contact group, insisted it remains under US chairmanship.
Daalder said the group would not be officially called a "mission" because of objections from Germany, which wanted to avoid suggesting that it and NATO were at war with Russia.
This is an attempt to defend against Trump and a conscious attempt to bring Ukraine and NATO closer together to support Ukraine today, as well as in the future, Daalder said.
The Biden administration has not commented publicly on the details of the plan. However, the US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the summit would show that allies are taking "concrete steps" to bring Ukraine closer together and provide a "bridge to possible membership".
NATO's outgoing secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, was vague about the plan for the new mission after the Alliance's ministers met on June 14.
He called the new mission "a key result of the summit" and a further step "on Ukraine's path to NATO membership." He emphasized that "these efforts do not make NATO a party to the conflict, but they will strengthen our support for Ukraine in defending its right to self-defence."
