Germany and Poland have pledged to work together to boost Ukraine's defense while NATO looks to "Trump-proof" aid amid concerns over the former president's potential return to the White House.
Details of NATO's new initiatives are expected to be announced at a summit in Washington, D.C., next week, following a less-than-stellar performance from President Joe Biden in Thursday's debate against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. and alliance officials.
As part of its plan, the organization is expected to station a senior civilian official in Kyiv and put in place a new command in Wiesbaden, Germany, manned by 700 U.S. and other allied personnel for its NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine operation.
A Trump victory in November could mean a reduction in American support for Ukraine, after he criticized the amount of money the U.S. has spent supporting the country in its war against Russia, which Germany and Poland both view as their biggest threat.
"A big reason for the change is to Trump-proof the assistance effort to Ukraine," former U.S. ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder told the outlet in an interview published Tuesday. "Rather than having Washington in charge of managing the training and assistance, NATO will be in charge. So even if the U.S. reduces or withdraws support for the effort, it won't be eliminated."
Germany and Poland – former enemies during World War II – have vowed to work together and coordinate their military assistance to aid Ukraine.
"It does provide for durability in the face of potential national political changes, whether it is as the result of elections in the United States, France, the U.K. or even in the European Union," another former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Douglas Lute, explained.
In Warsaw Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Germany's alliance with Poland following the first meeting between the two countries in the past six years.
"The security of Poland is also the security of Germany," Scholz reassured, according to the WSJ. "We will pool our capacities, and we will coordinate more... We will jointly take responsibility for the protection of NATO's Eastern flank."
