NATO member states are discussing the possibility of providing Ukraine with new military aid worth €70 billion. Decisions could be announced during the Allianceʼs summit in Ankara on July 7-8.
Politico reports this, citing NATO diplomats.
According to them, the idea of allocating €70 billion in aid to Ukraine was put forward by Germany in May. This is supposed to be an alternative to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutteʼs proposal to allocate 0.25% of GDP from each ally to Ukraine, which, according to media reports, was rejected by the largest member states of the Alliance — the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Canada.
At the same time, this €70 billion will not be entirely new funds. According to the preliminary plan, €30 billion of it is to come from the already agreed two-year €90 billion European Union loan for Ukraine, and another €40 billion from bilateral commitments of individual states.
Since many NATO members are also EU members, “it would be unfair to be called upon to contribute to defense twice”, NATO diplomats say. Other Politico sources fear that countries will rely on EU funds and feel less compelled to provide assistance themselves.
Negotiations on the new package are at an early stage. It is expected that important decisions may be made at a meeting of NATO defense ministers at the end of June.
It is already known that the issue of supporting Ukraine will be one of the key ones at the July NATO summit. Ukraineʼs Ambassador to NATO Alyona Hetmanchuk said that any new commitments should focus on Kyivʼs priorities — strengthening air defense, investing in the production of drones and missiles, and supplying long-range ammunition.
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