NATO seeks to include Ukraine funds in new spending target

NATO allies will consider allowing contributions to Ukraine’s defense to be included in the new spending target alliance members are expected to adopt at a leaders’ summit later this month, Report informs via Bloomberg.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will also propose working toward eliminating defense trade barriers, according to a preliminary draft of the summit declaration seen by Bloomberg. The draft will likely change before the final version is agreed to at the meeting in The Hague.

The one-page declaration focuses solely on defense spending, a stark departure from last year’s statement that ran more than 5,000 words and included a pledge of long-term security assistance for Ukraine.

The brevity of both the statement and the summit itself - which will include a dinner with the king of the Netherlands and a sole working session on defense spending - is meant to limit the potential for public quarreling between President Donald Trump and allies, according to people familiar with the matter.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has focused the summit on delivering a win for Trump in the form of an agreement among members to spend at least 5% of GDP on defense, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. They’ll also seek to keep the US fully engaged in NATO.

Allies will commit to allocating at least 3.5% of economic output to core defense requirements by 2032, plus an additional 1.5% to protect infrastructure, defend networks and ensure civil preparedness, meeting the 5% threshold the US has insisted on.

Notably absent from the statement is the prospect of Ukraine joining the military alliance, which featured prominently at previous summits. Last year’s $40 billion pledge for Kyiv has also not been put back on the table.

The preliminary draft reiterates allies’ commitment to collective defense, that an attack on one member is considered an attack against all, and allies will take appropriate action. Trump sent shock-waves through NATO in the past by suggesting the US wouldn’t protect allies who failed to reach the spending target.