NATO takes over coordination of military aid to Kiev from US — source

NATO has taken over coordination of Western military aid to Ukraine from the US as planned, a source said, in a move widely seen as aiming to safeguard the support mechanism against NATO sceptic US President-elect Donald Trump.

The step, coming after a delay of several months, gives NATO a more direct role in the war against Russia while stopping well short of committing its own forces.

The headquarters of NATO's new Ukraine mission, dubbed NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), is located at Clay Barracks, a US base in the German town of Wiesbaden.

A person familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday it was now fully operational. No public reason has been given for the delays.

NATO's military headquarters SHAPE said its Ukraine mission was beginning to assume responsibilities from the US and international organisations.

"The work of NSATU ... is designed to place Ukraine in a position of strength, which puts NATO in a position of strength to keep safe and prosperous its one billion people in both Europe and North America," said US Army General Christopher G. Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

"This is a good day for Ukraine and a good day for NATO."

Diplomats, however, acknowledge that the handover to NATO may have a limited effect given that the US under Trump could still deal a major setback to Ukraine by slashing its support, as it is the alliance's dominant power and provides the majority of arms to Kiev.

Fears of cutting aid

In the past, the US-led Ramstein group, an ad hoc coalition of some 50 nations named after a US air base in Germany where it first met, has coordinated Western military supplies to Kiev.

Trump threatened to quit NATO during his first term as president and demanded allies must spend 3 percent of national GDP on their militaries, compared with NATO's target of 2 percent.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Biden administration in Washington is scrambling to ship as many weapons as possible to Kiev amid fears that Trump may cut deliveries of military hardware to Ukraine.

NSATU is set to have a total strength of about 700 personnel, including troops stationed at NATO's military headquarters, SHAPE in Belgium and logistics hubs in Poland and Romania.

Russia has condemned increases in Western military aid to Ukraine as risking a wider war.