“A big reason for the change is to Trump-proof the assistance effort to Ukraine,” said Ivo Daalder, a former US-NATO ambassador. “Rather than having Washington in charge of managing the training and assistance, NATO will be in charge. So even if the US reduces or withdraws support for the effort, it won’t be eliminated.”
These steps, which aim to "buttress Ukraine’s prospects to eventually join the alliance without offering it membership," are expected to be announced at the NATO summit hosted in Washington, DC next week.
The Wall Street Journal stated that the initiatives designed to garner new support for Ukraine "take on new urgency following President Biden’s weak performance in his televised debate with Trump on Thursday and Trump’s complaints about the money the US has spent on Ukraine."
Douglas Lute, another former US-NATO ambassador, stated: "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 UK or even in the European Union."
Trump had vowed to "have that war settled between Putin and Zelensky as president-elect before I take office on January 20" during the Thursday presidential debate.
