NATO pledges €70bn for Ukraine

NATO’s summit in Ankara ended on July 8 with a formal pledge of €70 billion in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine in 2026, alongside a commitment by allies to sustain at least equivalent support in 2027. The alliance also reaffirmed its “ironclad commitment” to Article 5 collective defense in the summit declaration. The meeting closed after President Donald Trump spent much of the gathering attacking allies over burden-sharing, threatening to halt trade with Spain and again raising the idea of U.S. control of Greenland. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said after the meeting that allies had agreed to provide “at least 70 billion euros” this year and again next year as the alliance continued to back Kyiv. ### What exactly did NATO promise on Ukraine? The Ankara summit declaration said the 32 allies pledged €70 billion in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine for 2026. The same text said allies affirmed their “sovereign commitments” to sustaining at least equivalent levels in 2027. NATO also welcomed the European Union’s decision to provide multi-year funding through the Ukraine Support Loan. (nato.int) Mark Rutte said at his July 8 press conference that allies had pledged “at least 70 billion euros” this year and again next year. Reuters reported that much of the package drew on existing commitments, even as NATO presented the number as a headline outcome of the summit. (nato.int) ### Why did Article 5 feature so prominently? The Ankara declaration said allies “reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.” It also repeated NATO’s “360-degree approach to deterrence and defence,” language meant to show continuity on the alliance’s core mutual-defense pledge. (nato.int) Article 5 drew attention because Trump has repeatedly questioned alliance burden-sharing and U.S. commitments to European security. Reuters reported on July 9 that European members left Ankara bracing for more turbulence in relations with Washington even after the summit avoided an open rupture. ### What did Trump do that overshadowed the summit? (nato.int) Trump said on July 8 that he had ordered an immediate halt to all trade with Spain after denouncing Madrid as a weak ally on defense and over the Iran war. Reuters reported that the threat escalated tensions with a NATO member even though European Union trade policy is negotiated as a bloc. (usnews.com) Trump also renewed his push for the United States to take Greenland, according to reporting from Al Jazeera and other outlets covering the summit. Those remarks irritated Denmark while NATO leaders were trying to project unity around Ukraine, defense spending and Russia. ### Did the summit still produce other alliance commitments? (usnews.com) NATO’s July 8 declaration said allies had increased core defense investments and remained committed to the spending path agreed at the 2025 Hague summit, which set a goal of reaching 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. The summit materials also highlighted a planned 27-billion-euro investment to modernize NATO fuel storage, distribution infrastructure and pipelines toward the alliance’s eastern flank. (aljazeera.com) The official summit program said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were among the invited participants. Their presence underscored how closely NATO’s summit agenda remained tied to the war in Ukraine and to European financing for Kyiv. ### What happens after Ankara? (nato.int) The clearest next benchmark is 2027. NATO’s declaration and Rutte’s press conference both said allies intend to sustain at least the 2026 level of support for Ukraine next year, making delivery — not just the pledge — the next test after Ankara. The next public measure of follow-through is likely to come through national aid announcements, NATO reporting and European Union funding decisions tied to the Ukraine Support Loan cited in the declaration. (nato.int) For now, the formal record of what leaders agreed is in the Ankara summit declaration published by NATO on July 8. (nato.int)