NATO summit: US to deploy long-range weapons in Germany

China has warned NATO against "provoking confrontation" over its relations with Moscow, after the alliance accused Beijing  of playing a key role in helping Russia's war in Ukraine.

In a declaration from their Washington summit on Wednesday, NATO leaders said that Beijing had "become a decisive enabler of Russia's war against Ukraine".

Beijing's "so-called 'no limits' partnership" and "large-scale support for Russia's defense industrial base" were of "profound concern," they added in the declaration. 

A spokesperson for the Chinese mission to the European Union said NATO's planned statement was full of "belligerent rhetoric". 

"NATO should stop hyping up the so-called China threat and provoking confrontation and rivalry, and do more to contribute to world peace and stability," the spokesperson said.

"As we all know, China is not the creator of the crisis in Ukraine," the spokesperson added. 

"The declaration of the NATO summit in Washington is full of Cold War mentality and belligerent rhetoric, and China-related content is full of provocations, lies, incitement and smears," the spokesperson said in response to a question from the media.

China has refused to denounce Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Last year, Beijing released a paper calling for a "political settlement" to the conflict, which Western nations said could enable Russia to retain much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine.

 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with US President Joe Biden at the White House amid a NATO summit in Washington.

This is Starmer's first meeting with Biden. He was elected prime minister last week in a landslide victory for his Labour Party.

Biden said that he viewed the UK as the "knot tying the transatlantic alliance together."

Starmer said that "this special relationship is so important," adding that it is "stronger than ever now."

The British head of government vowed to maintain support for Ukraine.

"I made it absolutely clear that as far as the UK is concerned, the change of government makes no difference to the support that we will provide [to Ukraine]," Starmer said, referring to his recent election win that had him replace Conservative former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Starmer also effectively authorized Ukraine to strike targets within Russian territory, saying that British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles were for "defensive purposes," but it was up to Kyiv to decide how to deploy them.

Britain's government said that Starmer will announce a 3 billion pound ($3.9 billion, €3.6 billion) annual commitment of military support for Ukraine until 2030-31.

NATO leaders on Wednesday pledged to provide Ukraine with a further €40 billion ($43 billion) in military aid "within the next year" in its fight against invading Russian forces.

"Through proportional contributions, Allies intend to provide a minimum baseline funding of €40 billion within the next year and to provide sustainable levels of security assistance for Ukraine to prevail," read a summit communique.

The commitment put forth was less, however, than the multi-year plan proposed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
 
The announcement came as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Fox News Radio that NATO countries, "take advantage of us [the US] very badly."  There is great concern among NATO partners that the US could refuse to continue its support for Ukraine should Trump win election this November.

At the same time, NATO leaders also called on China to stop providing Russia with military support and political cover in its war of aggression. 

The head of Poland's National Security Bureau, Jacek Siewiera, told AP news agency that a new NATO facility being set up in his country could be used to train "millions" of Ukrainians living abroad for the fight against Russia.

Siewiera, a key figure regarding both Poland's support for Ukraine and the build-up of Warsaw's own defenses, made the comments on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

The new facility in Bydgoszcz is primarily intended to allow Ukrainians to share "crucial" battlefield lessons learned fighting Russia with NATO partners. 

But with Ukraine finding it difficult to recruit and train enough fighters to defend itself against invading Russian forces, Siewiera told AP the West needs to look at training, "the volunteers who are now present in European countries and are willing to defend Ukraine in the future, because there are millions of them."

Training in Poland would relieve the Ukrainian army of the added difficulty of preparing new recruits while at the same fighting Russian forces. 

This comes as Eastern European countries such as Poland continue to voice fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be emboldened should Ukraine fall, potentially leading him to expand his military aggression.  

Amid two-fold concerns among European NATO countries over the US — due to the threat posed by a second Donald Trump presidency as well as perceived overcautiousness on the part of President Joe Biden — Siewiera suggested that Ukraine should be allowed to use NATO weaponry to attack Russian forces on Russian territory, not only when in Ukraine.

"It's up to Ukrainians how they use their weapons," Siewiera said.

US President Joe Biden said NATO member countries need to increase their industrial production to match Russia's manufacturing of weapons and munitions.

"We cannot allow the alliance to fall behind," Biden told the North Atlantic Council, the formal decision-making body of the alliance, as they convened in Washington.

He said he was pleased all NATO members were pledging to expand their industrial bases and to develop plans for defense production at home.

"We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory and we'll it together," he said. 

The 81-year old, has faced questions about his fitness for office after fumbling a June 27 debate and hopes the NATO spotlight will help him stage a comeback of sorts

The US will start in 2026 deploying long-range fire capabilities in Germany, the two countries have announced.

In a statement issued on the sidelines of the NATO summit, the two countries said that the "episodic deployments" are in preparation for longer-term stationing of such capabilities that will include SM-6, Tomahawk and developmental hypersonic weapons with longer range than the current capabilities in Europe.

"Exercising these advanced capabilities will demonstrate the United States' commitment to NATO and its contributions to European integrated deterrence," the statement said.

Olaf Scholz said, "Germany is ready" to take on an increased leadership role. The German chancellor said his country has a "special responsibility" as the largest NATO country within Europe.

"I will fully live up to that responsibility," Scholz said.

I spoke with delegates who attended the "EU Defense Night," and it was evident that they had high expectations of Germany as a stabilizing force in the defense alliance.

They are not the only ones with expectations.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy started a bilateral meeting with Olaf Scholz by saying, "Thank you, Olaf, for the air defense."

Germany provided Ukraine with a third Patriot air defense system and made extensive efforts to gather more within NATO.

Scholz is a little more hesitant when asked whether he is willing to assist Zelenskyy with his latest request.

Zelenskyy wants more fighter jets and permission to strike deeper into Russian territory. 

Scholz would rather publicly discuss what has now been achieved — the $50 billion loan based on frozen Russian assets and the new air defense package

Scholz has repeatedly promised Germans that they will not be dragged into the conflict. NATO's support operations for Ukraine were no longer allowed to be called a "mission" following a German veto.

There were fears in Berlin this could sound too much like NATO getting actively involved in the conflict. 

So it is fair to say Germany is ready to take more of a leadership role while also being very cautious about the situation in Ukraine.

DW's chief political editor, Michaela Küfner, is accompanying the German delegation at the NATO summit in Washington.

F-16 fighter aircraft are en route to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during the NATO summit on Wednesday.

The first batch of the US-built fighter planes were already being transferred, Blinken said.

"And those jets...will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian aggression."

The F-16 transfer "concentrates Vladimir Putin's mind on the fact that he will not outlast Ukraine, he will not outlast us and, if he persists, the damage that will continue to be done to Russia and its interests will only deepen," Blinken said.

"The quickest way to get to peace is through a strong Ukraine." 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the US, Denmark and the Netherlands for strengthening Ukraine's air force.

"I am grateful to the United States, Denmark, and the Netherlands for taking practical steps to achieve the goal of all Ukrainians," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store announced that his country also intends to supply Ukraine with F-16s.

"Ukraine's ability to defend itself against air attacks is crucial in its battle against Russia," Støre said in a statement. No date was given for the delivery, but the prime minister said it would happen this year.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday stressed the importance of NATO support for Ukraine and how each member needed to do its bit.

Speaking on the sidelines of the leaders summit in Wahsington and on the topic of whether Germany had a special role in the alliance, Scholz said:

"Germany is the largest country in Europe within the NATO alliance. This gives us a very special responsibility and I can say very clearly here we will, I will, fulfil this responsibility."

The German leader said he expected "great success and a sign of unity" at the NATO summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been looking to get large numbers of Western fighter jets as the planes to fend off Russia's invasion continues.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Foundation in Washington, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs at least 128 warplanes.

He said Russia was able to deploy 300 aircraft a day in its continued attacks on Ukraine.

"You know, we always wait. Just like my mum used to wait for me after school and I always found a reason to come later. It's the same, only much more serious," Zelenskyy was quoted as saying by Ukrainian media.

The discussion is only ever about 10 or 20 aircraft, Zelenskyy said. "Even if there are 50, that's nothing. They [the Russians] have 300," he said. "Until we have 128 aircraft, we won't be able to compete with them in the sky." He did not give any further details on this figure.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was still too soon to say when Ukraine would become a member of the alliance, but it was firmly on the path toward that goal.

"To have a new ally we need consensus. All allies agree that Ukraine will become a member but its too early to say exactly when that will happen," Stoltenberg told members of the media as he responded to questions.

"What I can say is that we are moving together with Ukraine, closer and closer to NATO membership and we do that by concrete actions," the NATO secretary-general added.

NATO has 32 member countries. 

 

Ukraine will be receiving dozens of tactical air defence systems in the coming months.

Day one of the NATO leaders summit saw US President Joe Biden announce "a historic donation of air defense equipment for Ukraine."

The deliveries would include at least four of the Patriot systems that Ukraine has requested.

The US, Germany and Romania will send Ukraine additional Patriot batteries, according to a joint agreement.

The Netherlands and others will provide Patriot components to make up one more battery.

Other allies will provide other air defense systems.

The announcement came after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called on the leaders of the alliance to maintain support for Ukraine and said that "the greatest risk will be if Russia wins in Ukraine."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his thanks for NATO's "strong declaration" regarding air defense and said it would help destroy Russian missiles and drones.