NATO Takes Over Air Defenses in Poland from US Ahead of Trump Inauguration
NATO has taken over air defenses in Poland from the US, according to a NATO spokesman, just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. This move is part of a broader effort to shift the burden of helping Ukraine from the US to European countries, amid questions over whether US support for Ukraine will continue under the Trump administration.
The transfer of command and control has been in the works for months and was completed on Thursday, with NATO assuming responsibility for safeguarding logistics nodes in Poland necessary for delivering aid crucial to Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
NATO allies have been concerned about the possibility of US support for Ukraine shrinking over the next year, as Trump has questioned the value of aid to Ukraine and the US commitment to NATO. While he has expressed a desire to end the war, he has not yet weighed in on whether his administration will continue providing military assistance to Ukraine.
To “Trump-proof” the assistance, the US has worked to transition aid to Ukraine from a US-led effort to a NATO-led mechanism. The transition is ongoing, with NATO shouldering more responsibility every day, according to Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.
The US has also announced another $500 million military aid package for Ukraine, the final expected package from the outgoing leadership, as the Biden administration tries to leave Ukraine in the strongest possible position before the transfer of power.
In addition to the transfer of air defenses, NATO has also taken over responsibilities from the US-led Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, which handled the flow of Western weapons and equipment to Kyiv. The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a meeting of approximately 50 countries that have supported Ukraine with weapons and equipment, is another critical element in aid to Ukraine, although it is unclear whether the Trump administration will continue to chair the forum or if a European country will take over.
