NATO steps back from setting up a $100 billion fund for Ukraine

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has abandoned his plan to create a five-year, $100 billion fund for military assistance to Ukraine. This idea was not supported by the Alliance members.

According to Bloomberg, he is asking countries to maintain their current contributions instead, according to sources familiar with the matter. Under the new proposal, which could be backed by NATO defense ministers when they meet in Brussels next week, the allies would commit to spending at least 40 billion euros ($43 billion) a year on lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine.

NATO will set donation targets for each country based on a percentage of their gross domestic product, and then likely publish the totals in an annual report.

The goal is to provide more transparency about what allies are giving to Ukraine while gently pressuring any members that do not fulfill their commitments. The United States will account for about half of the aid, with the rest being provided by 31 other allies.

Earlier, Stoltenberg unveiled a plan to pool $100 billion in the contributions of allies over five years, but the members of the union questioned its viability due to reluctance to commit new funds and concerns about misleading Ukraine.

Although the new plan did not provide fresh funds, NATO hoped it would provide Kyiv with more predictability about the level of support in the coming years. The allies were impressed after the U.S. Congress waited months to approve a new round of aid and were also concerned about what Donald Trump's possible re-election in November would mean for Ukraine's funding.

"We have already spent about 40 billion a year so far, but I ask the allies to do it for the next years," Stoltenberg said after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague. "We have to maintain at least this level of support every year for as long as it takes."

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