NATO head: The alliance cannot afford not to support Ukraine if Trump wins

• Donald Trump won the presidential election on Wednesday, clearing the way for his return to the White House.
• His past rhetoric has raised concerns about the future of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine and NATO support.
• But in a new article, the head of NATO said that the military alliance cannot afford to stop supporting Kyiv.

Former President Donald Trump victory Wednesday’s US presidential election intensified long-standing concerns about the future of American support for Ukraine as the hard-fought war against Russia continues.

Against this backdrop, the NATO chief warns that the military alliance cannot afford to stop providing Kyiv with the security assistance it needs to fight the Russians. Ukrainian defenders faced a problem dangerous moment of war as Moscow’s forces gain strength in the east and the arrival of North Korean troops signals, Nato leaders have said, that “darker” times could lie ahead.

“Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, NATO allies have provided more than 99 percent of all military support to Ukraine,” Mark Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister who became NATO secretary general in October, wrote in the report. article published by POLITICO on Wednesday.

“And we are on track to meet the financial commitment of $40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year,” Rutte said, adding that “what we need now is political determination to stay the course for the long term.”

“Until now, our support has kept Ukraine in the fight. But we need to do much more to change the trajectory of the conflict. We need to raise the price for Putin and his authoritarian friends,” he said, referring to the leaders. China, Iran and North Korea, which are accused of supporting and fueling Moscow’s military efforts.

Rutte’s article focused on recent events. deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia to fight against Ukraine. It did not mention Trump or highlight the US focus on its military support.

But the article came out at an important moment. Trump has long been criticize NATO and some member states regarding their defense spending. He has also repeatedly expressed concern about the large amount of security assistance the United States has sent to Ukraine.

The Biden administration has provided more than $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale war in February 2022. During this time, NATO countries also provided tens of billions of dollars in security assistance to Kyiv.

NATO countries sent Ukraine fighter jets, drones, tanks, armored vehicles, rockets, missiles, artillery shells, bombs, guns, bullets and other lethal aid in what leaders called an investment in defending European security.

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“Supporting Ukraine costs a small part of our annual military budget,” Rutte said. “It’s a small price to pay for peace. The question is, can we afford not to?”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with Trump in September, was one of the first world leaders to send a letter of congratulations on Trump’s election victory.

“Ukraine, as one of Europe’s strongest military powers, is committed to ensuring long-term peace and security in Europe and the Transatlantic community with the support of our allies,” he wrote on social media, saying he hoped to work with Trump to strengthen bilateral ties with the United States.

In Ukraine and across Europe, there was concern throughout the election season that a Trump victory could jeopardize support for Ukraine, especially after an earlier Republican gridlock in Congress involving Trump hampered Ukrainian defense operations for months.

In the summer, at the next NATO summit in Washington, NATO unveiled plans take more control regarding Western efforts to arm and train the Ukrainian army. The move was seen as an attempt to protect the country’s long-term support from political uncertainty in the United States, Kyiv’s largest arms supplier.

Laurynas Kasciunas, Lithuania’s defense minister, said at the time that there was no “safe and secure” Europe without U.S. support, adding that NATO “must be ready to work” with whoever wins the White House.

Months later, as news of Trump’s victory broke on Wednesday, NATO allies appeared to be sticking with that approach, with several leaders offering congratulatory messages and expressing its desire to continue close defense cooperation with the United States.

IN post on social networks Earlier in the day, Rutte said he congratulated Trump on his election victory. “His leadership will once again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength” through NATO, he wrote.