“Anti-Trump” shield for Kiev, prepared by NATO: 100 billion euros, military aid. Hungary is skeptical

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that member states will discuss a deal to increase support for Ukraine in a more predictable way to send a message to Russia that it cannot win the war, Reuters reports. Allies want to put together a plan to defend aid to Kiev if Donald Trump returns to the White House after November’s election. But a consensus among the 32 NATO members seems improbable given that Hungary is skeptical, claiming that it does not want the political-military alliance to become an offensive one.

At the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Stoltenberg told reporters that Ukraine needs more money from NATO over several years.

However, he declined to comment on a possible 100 billion euro bailout fund for Ukraine.

NATO chief: “We need to change the dynamics of our support”

NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss how to make military support for Ukraine long-term, including a proposal for a 100 billion euro fund over five years and a plan seen as a way to ” secure” aid to Kiev in the face of Trump.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s proposals would give the alliance a more direct role in coordinating the supply of arms, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s invasion, diplomats say.

“We need to change the dynamics of our support,” Stoltenberg stressed before the meeting in Brussels.

“We need to ensure reliable and predictable security assistance for Ukraine in the long term, so that we rely less on voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments. Less on short-term deals and more on multi-year commitments.”

He declined to confirm funding levels and said the aim was for a decision to be made at the NATO summit in Washington in July, which will mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary.

“Anti-Trump” Shield

Under the plans, NATO would take over some coordination work from the US-led coalition known as the Ramstein group, a move intended in part to protect against any reduction in US support if Donald Trump returns to the White House, they declared the diplomats.

Until now, NATO as an organization has focused on non-lethal aid to Ukraine, fearing that a more direct role could trigger an escalation of tensions with Russia. The Allies supplied billions of dollars in arms on a bilateral basis.

Diplomats said there is a growing view within NATO that the time has come for Ukraine to receive long-term military aid, and that NATO is best placed to do so.

But NATO officials say it is not clear whether the €100 billion will be accepted or how the financing will be done. NATO decisions require consensus among its 32 members.

Germany says it’s a ‘correct and important’ decision

Arriving at the talks, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the proposal as “correct and important”, saying that aid to Ukraine should be paid through “reliable and long-term structures”.

Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins also welcomed the 100 billion euro fund proposal, suggesting contributions could be a percentage of each member’s GDP.

But in a sign that a decision will not be easy, Hungary has shown signs of skepticism about at least some elements of Stoltenberg’s proposal.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto firmly stated that “Hungary will not support any NATO proposal that could bring the alliance closer to war or change it from a defensive to an offensive coalition,” government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said , on X.

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said the ministers would discuss the feasibility of Stoltenberg’s proposal and the contribution each could make.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will attend the meeting, said on Tuesday in Paris that NATO is considering measures that could serve as the “necessary bridge” for Ukraine to join the alliance.

NATO has said that Ukraine cannot join while it is at war with Russia, but that it will become a member at some point.

NATO has returned to Cold War mentality, Russia says

Russia said on Wednesday that NATO has returned to a Cold War mentality, as the alliance turns 75 on Thursday.

“Today, in relations with Russia, the bloc has returned to the Cold War mentality,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

She said NATO has no place in the “multipolar world” that Moscow says it wants to build to end US dominance, but that it remains Russia’s focus.

President Vladimir Putin launched what he called his “special military operation” in Ukraine in 2022 with the stated goal of preventing NATO from expanding near Russia. But the war has led to a strengthening of the alliance, which has expanded to 32 members through the accession of Finland and Sweden.

Western governments say they are helping Ukraine fight for its survival in the face of Russian invasion. Zaharova said NATO’s history is “full of aggressive adventures that have brought wars and destruction to many nations” and its anniversary on Thursday is no cause for celebration.