Continuing support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia may mean long-term trouble for NATO, with major issues that should be addressed by the military bloc being “kicked down the road,” experts and former officials have told Politico.
A piece run by the outlet on Saturday ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, raises questions about the mounting costs of aid to Ukraine, as well as a lack of unity among members. Many allies have displayed increasing alarm over “how long, and at what cost, Kiev can continue to be supported,” the article said.
In public, however, NATO and US officials have ramped up efforts to demonstrate a united front ahead of the summit, expressing readiness to continue backing Ukraine for as long as necessary.
“The [US] president has been clear that we are going to support Ukraine for as long as it takes and provide them an exceptional quantity of arms and capabilities,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday.
Solidarity with Kiev, however, may ultimately serve Washington’s domestic goals, namely strengthening the position of US President Joe Biden and the Democrat Party ahead of the 2024 general elections. At the same time, growing political uncertainty in the US is pushing Ukraine to demand more and more from its Western backers in order to prepare for a scenario when aid abruptly stops, Hagar Chemali, a former US government official under president Barack Obama, told Politico.