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The handover of oversight of military supplies, training and reform of Ukraine’s armed forces to NATO will be completed “in the coming months” as NATO leaders rush to protect their support for Ukraine from a potentially critical future government.
On Wednesday (July 10), NATO member states Agree NATO plays a role in coordinating training and supplies to Ukraine as part of an effort to bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership.
To that end, they have created a platform called NATO Security Assistance and Training to Ukraine (NSATU), which NATO officials told reporters will be implemented “in the coming months in a way that does not disrupt related efforts.”
Putting the coordination platform into NATO hands is part of NATO’s ongoing efforts to provide long-term sustainable support to Ukraine, which remains under-armed and under-manned on the battlefield.
“This conflict is unlikely to end any time soon.” explain A senior NATO official.
The mission of NSATU is currently in the hands of To this These are institutions the United States established after Russia launched the war in Ukraine, and they may be changed or no longer coordinated in the coming months.
Until then, the coordination of aid will remain the responsibility of the Security Assistance Group for Ukraine (SAGU) and its International Coordinating Committee Centre (IBCC), which are linked to the so-called Ramstein format, on which more than 50 countries meet regularly.
At present, bilateral or multilateral training tasks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are undertaken by relevant countries, such as the “Ukraine International Military Exercise” led by the United Kingdom, the European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM), and the F-16 fighter pilot training led by the Netherlands.
NATO officials said the decision to create the National Security Council was intended to “try to bring these efforts together and bring more consistency, predictability and coherence to everything going forward.”
Another reason NATO diplomats prefer not to be named is the need to ensure that they do not provide support to any government that might challenge Ukraine in the future.
The official added that the decision to form the NSATU was taken jointly by 31 allies (Hungary opted out) and any further decision to change its mandate would require the consensus of all 31 allies.
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) will lead the transition from the ad hoc structure to the NSATU coordination platform. A three-star general will lead the NSATU and report to SACEUR.
Specifically, NATO will coordinate with donor governments on what equipment to send to Ukraine based on their needs, and will deliver it to hubs on its eastern flank, such as Poland, Slovakia and Romania.
As a secondary task, NSATU will also coordinate training activities.
The third task – which did not belong to the previous structure – is the future development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This means that, as part of the coordination effort, NATO staff will consider the future needs of the Ukrainian military as it modernizes and joins NATO, making its forces more interoperable and able to work with the armies of NATO member states.
“We are working even closer with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including through the establishment of a new joint NATO-Ukraine analysis, training and education centre in Poland, and deepening cooperation on innovation and defence industry production,” NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said on Thursday (July 11).
NATO’s new stance
For the past two years, NATO has refused to engage in any lethal support for Ukraine.
The fact that the war is still going on and support must continue has changed that attitude, the diplomats added.
NATO officials said the alliance would not deploy troops in Ukraine, send equipment into Ukraine, track its cross-border movements or intervene in procurement.
“This will not make NATO a party to the conflict, but it will enhance Ukraine’s ability to defend itself,” Stoltenberg insisted ahead of the summit, anticipating future Russian comments that NATO was changing its stance.
(Reported by Alexandra Brzozovsky/Editing by Daniel Ek)
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