The United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Canada have opposed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutteʼs idea to allocate 0.25% of their GDP for military aid to Ukraine.
This is reported by The Telegraph.
Rutte had hoped to endorse his idea at NATOʼs annual summit in Ankara. However, due to the lack of unanimous support, it was decided not to move the proposal forward.
According to the publicationʼs sources, at least seven NATO member states supported the idea. These include states that already spend more than 0.25% of their GDP on supporting Ukraine — the Netherlands, Poland, and the countries of Northern and Baltic Europe.
At the same time, decision-making in NATO requires the support of all member states. That is why resistance from several large countries (Britain, France, Spain, Italy, and Canada) effectively blocked the initiative.
The Telegraph writes that this news will be a double blow to the credibility of the UK as one of Ukraineʼs most loyal allies. In addition, the British government has already come under heavy criticism after easing sanctions against Russian oil and gas exports.
Despite this, London remains one of the largest donors of military aid to Ukraine after the US and Germany. Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously promised to allocate at least £3 billion to Kyiv annually.
Mark Rutte himself has repeatedly stated that assistance to Ukraine within NATO is unevenly distributed, and some allies are "not doing enough" to support Kyiv.
- At the end of June 2025, Alliance leaders committed to investing 5% of GDP annually in defense and security-related spending by 2035. In 2025, all NATO member states increased defense spending and reached or exceeded the 2% of GDP defense spending target for the first time.
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