NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will ask NATO allies to provide a minimum of 40 billion euros ($43.3 billion) in annual military funding for Ukraine, a source within NATO told Reuters on May 30.
The funding proposal comes as NATO foreign ministers gather in Prague for talks on May 31, ahead of the NATO's Washington summit on July 9-11. Foreign ministers will discuss concrete long-term support efforts for Ukraine, as well as changes to how weapons and ammunition is supplied.
Stoltenberg has not yet publicly proposed an amount for the annual funding package. NATO officials have previously proposed 100 billion euros ($108.3 billion) over five years, or 20 billion euros ($21.6 billion) annually.
Stoltenberg has also sought for more consistent approaches in delivering military aid for Ukraine. NATO is seeking to take over the operational duties of the U.S.-led Ukraine Contact Defense Group, which coordinates weapons deliveries by about 50 countries to Ukraine.
While being united as a bloc against Russia’s full-scale invasion, levels of support between NATO member states, as well as their public statements on the threat to European security that the Kremlin poses, vary.
Ukraine is not expected to advance further towards NATO membership at this year’s annual summit due to concerns that the alliance could be drawn into a war with Russia, the Telegraph reported on May 28.
Despite setbacks to Ukraine's NATO aspirations, partners assured Kyiv that the Washington summit would define a specific position for Ukraine's membership in NATO, namely its irreversibility and the roadmap toward it, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said on May 29.
Read also: NATO summit declaration to contain ‘new language’ on Ukraine’s membership, US ambassador says
