NATO Backs Ukraine Despite Doubts about Biden’s Re-election

NATO Backs Ukraine Despite Doubts and uncertainties surrounding Biden’s re-election campaign. The alliance is focused on protecting against a potential ‘coalition of authoritarian regimes’, with Ukraine bearing the brunt of the conflict on the frontlines.
World leaders are set to convene in Washington, D.C., this week for a significant NATO summit amidst growing concerns about the ongoing U.S. backing for Ukraine.
This summit commemorates the 75th anniversary of the alliance’s establishment. It takes place against doubts surrounding President Biden’s re-election prospects and the implications for Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.
Several crucial topics are anticipated to be discussed during the summit commencing on Tuesday, such as Ukraine’s progress in its conflict with Russia, Ukraine’s prospective NATO membership, and the strategies NATO intends to implement to enhance its joint defense.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are meeting in Washington this week to mark the 75th anniversary of the world’s biggest security organization just as Russia presses its advantage on the battlefield in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
The U.S. has been a major supporter of Ukraine since the war began, providing the most significant amount of aid from any one nation and sparking debate within the U.S. over whether Washington can or will keep up this level of support under a different presidency.
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Former President Donald Trump refused to clarify what U.S. involvement with NATO would look like if he were to win a second presidency, and during a debate with Biden last month he shrugged when asked, “You’re going to stay in NATO or you’re going to pull out of NATO?”
Experts agree Trump is unlikely to pull out of NATO altogether, though the alliance is taking steps to safeguard its support for Ukraine should Washington begin to take a back seat.
Reports surfaced last week suggesting that NATO was already pledging its support for next year by committing another $43 billion in funding for the war-torn nation in 2025.
“I don’t think NATO would explicitly say they’re doing anything because of the politics of a specific member state,” retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Fox News Digital. “But I think they do understand that Donald Trump has asked for a higher level of European state leadership within NATO, and contributions within NATO.
“And I think they are seeing what’s happening, [and] they are starting to maneuver themselves accordingly,” he added.

Montgomery anticipates that talks will also focus on the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of over 50 nations, including all 32 NATO nations, backing Kyiv with the U.S. playing a significant role under Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“This is about the day-to-day management of the Ukraine support packages,” Montgomery said, pointing out that if Trump does win the presidency, as with any administration change, it will take time to get new officials in place.
Funding Ukraine’s defensive efforts to oust Russia over the last three years has been a costly endeavor and has sparked pushback from not only Republicans in Congress but also isolationist movements in Europe as conservative lawmakers take up more seats in the European Union.
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In April, Congress approved a $60 billion aid package to Kyiv. But the months-long blockade on the package proved to be a serious setback for Ukraine, and its arms became critically depleted — revealing just how vital U.S. arms are in the war against Russia.
It is unclear if any individual NATO nations are expected to pledge additional aid packages this week, but experts have long warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be deterred in his war effort if Ukraine is not adequately supported.
“It needs to be such a significant sum of money that it’s made crystal clear to Putin that he can’t run the clock here,” former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment, Marshall Billingslea, told Fox News Digital. “Equally important, is that the allies need to furnish the kinds of sophisticated weapons that the Ukrainians need, and they need to do so without the ridiculous limitations that have so far been put on some of them — like the Biden administration’s refusal to allow Ukraine to use U.S. weapons against Russians on Russian soil.”

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has been pushing for the U.S. to allow the use of long-range weaponry like American-made ATACMS to target military sites in Russia.
While countries like the U.K. and France have no restrictions on the weapons they provide Ukraine, the Biden administration has imposed some conditions on striking targets outside Ukraine — a move NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on all NATO nations to abandon.
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The alliance is expected to release additional guidance on Ukraine’s potential path to joining NATO, but it remains unlikely that Kyiv will be able to pursue membership until its conflict with Russia is resolved.
Billingslea stated that NATO will be careful in addressing Kyiv’s future in the alliance by signaling to Putin that Ukrainian membership in NATO is not in doubt and will not be indefinitely delayed if he continues to engage in hostilities.
But Ukraine’s success and ongoing international support will not be the only major topics discussed. The alliance will also focus on strengthening its collective defense against all international threats.

There’s a group of authoritarian nations that NATO needs to address, including China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran,” Montgomery emphasized.
China, Iran, and North Korea have not only supported Russia in the conflict in Ukraine but have also emphasized their unity in countering Western influence rather than just Russia’s objectives in the region.
“Ukraine is at the forefront of battling against all four of these authoritarian regimes. NATO must increase its support for Ukraine,” Montgomery cautioned.