NATO shifts focus as US under Trump retreats from leading role on Ukraine

Published connected 24/06/2025 - 20:11 GMT+2•Updated 21:16

All 32 NATO friends are gathering successful The Hague for nan yearly leaders acme wherever NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters that Russia remains "the astir important and nonstop threat facing nan alliance." 

But successful opposition to past year, nan attraction connected Russia's afloat standard penetration of Ukraine is notably diminished from general discussions. 

Instead, nan acme is pursuing a narrower ambition of pushing for friends to perpetrate to spending 5% of GDP connected defence. 

"We cognize that nan position of nan United States has changed and truthful besides present astatine nan NATO Summit", Dutch Defence curate Ruben Brekelmans told Euronews. 

"The main topic, of course, is nan 5% is simply a new, this historical measurement for our defence. But Ukraine remains arsenic important to us", he said. 

Ukrainian President Zelensky is attending nan meal nan Netherlands' King Willem-Alexander alongside leaders, and is besides expected to meet pinch President Trump connected nan side-lines of nan summit.

However, this twelvemonth he won't beryllium coming astatine nan North Atlantic Council of heads of authorities and government. 

In contrast, astatine past year's NATO acme nether nan Biden management Ukraine was fixed "irreversible" assurances of a way to membership. Allies assured Kyiv that it was connected an "indestructible bridge" to subordinate nan alliance. 

"Trump signalled he wanted nan indestructible span disconnected nan array from nan start," Jason Israel, erstwhile personnel of nan Biden administration's National Security Council and elder head for defence, told Euronews. 

"If I was Ukraine, of people I'd beryllium nervous about really this is playing retired astatine nan moment," he said. 

There's a increasing acceptance that nan US - though still providing Ukraine pinch captious intelligence - will nary longer supply Ukraine pinch lethal weapons akin to that donated by nan Biden administration.

"The existent issue, is that nan US does not spot Ukrainian information arsenic basal to European security, and our European friends do so," said Kurt Volker, erstwhile US typical to Ukraine successful nan past Trump administration. 

Europe "feels that if Putin is allowed to prevail successful Ukraine, aliases if Ukraine does not past arsenic a sovereign, independent state, they are astatine risk, and that is simply a large information threat for Europe and NATO," he said up of nan acme astatine an arena organised by nan Centre for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). 

Europe sees "the request to support Ukraine arsenic integral to our information done NATO, nan US simply doesn't spot it that way," said Volker. 

At nan aforesaid time, NATO officials pass Russia is continuing to make gains astir Sumy Oblast and Eastern Ukraine, though their appraisal doesn't foretell Ukraine will beryllium encircled.  

Instead a precocious attrition complaint and a slow, prolonged conflict is expected to continue. 

This is contempt nan remarkably precocious casualty complaint – NATO says Russia's unit losses person surpassed 1 cardinal since nan commencement of nan afloat standard invasion. 

Russia is presently "taking" 1,100 regular casualties, "down from highest successful January of 1,500," they said.