Oleg Davygora19:57, 17.12.24

According to the publication, the headquarters of the new mission was called NSATU (NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine) and has already fully entered into operation.

NATO has taken over coordination of Western military assistance to Ukraine from the United States, as planned, a source told Reuters .

The move is seen as a move to protect the support mechanism from NATO skeptic Donald Trump, giving the alliance a more direct role in the war against Russian aggression without using its own forces.

Diplomats acknowledge that the transfer of authority to NATO may have limited effect, given that the United States under Trump could still deal a serious blow to Ukraine by reducing its support, as it is the dominant power in the alliance and supplies most of Kyiv’s weapons.

The headquarters of NATO’s new mission in Ukraine, called NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), is located at a US base in the German city of Wiesbaden. A person familiar with the situation said it is now fully operational and there have been no public reasons for the delays.

It is noted that, meanwhile, the outgoing administration in Washington is trying hard to send as much weapons as possible to Kyiv amid fears that Trump may reduce the supply of military equipment to Ukraine.

The total NSATU personnel strength will be around 700, including military personnel stationed at NATO SHAPE headquarters in Belgium and at logistics hubs in Poland and Romania.

War in Ukraine – Trump’s position

Donald Trump, who takes office in January, has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine quickly , but has not specified how he intends to do so. He has long criticized the extent of US financial and military aid to Ukraine.

Trump threatened to withdraw from NATO during his first term and demanded that allies spend 3% of national GDP on their armed forces, compared to NATO’s target of 2%.

(c)UNIAN 2024