NATO countries on Thursday approved a plan for a security assistance and training mission for Ukraine, alliance sources told dpa.
The mission, called NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), would see military aid provided to Ukraine under official NATO structures for the first time. Until now, NATO countries have coordinated this aid through an informal, United States-led group called the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
The shift of responsibility is one element of a broader proposal - still under discussion - for NATO allies to make a long-term commitment to support Ukraine.
Thursday's agreement does not include any specific financial commitments, but establishes that joint aid will at least be coordinated by NATO proper.
At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague last month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg he wanted allies to "commit to a multi-year financial pledge for Ukraine" of €40 billion ($43 billion) per year. The point, he said, was to show Russia "that it cannot wait us out."
