Many NATO members 'not spending enough' to support Ukraine: NATO chief

AFP , Thursday 21 May 2026

Many NATO members are not contributing enough money to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia's full-scale invasion, the alliance's chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday.

Mark Rutte
The Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte (L) and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hold a press conference during a visit to the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency in Revinge, Lund, in Sweden. AFP

 

Aid to Ukraine "is not evenly distributed now within NATO," Rutte told reporters in the Swedish city of Helsingborg ahead of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting.

"There is a limited number of countries, including Sweden, which is really punching above its weight when it comes to the support for Ukraine, and other countries like Canada and Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway, and also a couple of others," he said.

"But there are also many not spending enough when it comes to the support for Ukraine," he said.

Last week, Rutte proposed that allies should dedicate 0.25 percent of their GDP to Ukraine.

The proposal, which could unlock tens of billions of dollars in additional aid, has faced strong opposition from some major member countries, according to news outlet Politico.

"The proposal will not get unanimity, so it will not work," Rutte acknowledged on Thursday.

"But it has at least started the debate between allies, that if we all are saying that Ukraine has to make sure that it stays in the fight as strong as possible, and bring this fight to a peace, then of course we all have to chip in an equal manner."

The Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as the Netherlands and Poland, devote a higher share of their GDP to military aid to Kyiv than many other allies, according to data from the Kiel Institute.

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