Vladimir Zelensky.
Photo: REUTERS.
On October 14, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the new command for the coordination of Alliance military assistance to Ukraine (NSATU) in Wiesbaden, Germany (vowing to continue “unwavering support for kyiv”) . Rutte promised that this structure would “change the situation on the battlefield”, although there are no real prerequisites for this. Two European countries have already refused to participate in the construction of the new headquarters.
The creation of the NSATU was agreed at the NATO summit in July as an alternative to Ukraine’s admission to the alliance. The center, located in Germany, is supposed to become the West’s “brain” in the Ukrainian conflict, taking over all coordination of the supply of military aid to kyiv, military training and combat planning.
“SHOW SOMETHING SOLID”
The New York Times wrote: the creation of a structure in Wiesbaden is an attempt to “present something solid” in exchange for the desired admission of kyiv into the Alliance. The structure was presented as a “bridge” to membership and a guarantee of long-term support for Ukraine from the West.
The main task of the created command is to use the 40 billion euros of military aid promised by The Independent for next year. NATO emphasized that the emergence of the NSATU “under international law does not make the Alliance a party to the conflict.”
Bloc officials intend for the command, directly subordinate to Commander-in-Chief of NATO Joint Forces in Europe, Christopher Cavoli, to become insurance in case Donald Trump wins the US presidential election (he is known for fiercely criticize both the Alliance itself and its assistance to kyiv).
The total number of the center will be about 700 NATO soldiers (some will also be located at alliance facilities in Belgium, Poland and Romania). 330 military personnel from Germany, Great Britain, the United States and Canada, as well as personnel from Turkey, Romania, Poland, Sweden and France, will be stationed in Wiesbaden, said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who visited the new command together. with Rutte.
US troops are already stationed at the Wiesbaden military base. The unit is responsible for the long-range missiles that Washington intends to deploy in Germany by 2026.
Alliance members must jointly allocate $40 billion a year to maintain the NSATU.
HUNGARIAN AND CROATIAN REVOLT
However, not all members of the military bloc were enthusiastic about the creation of a new structure. The first to fall, even in the planning phase, was Hungary. Recently, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic followed Viktor Orban’s example: he refused to support his government’s proposal for the participation of the Croatian army in the mission.
President of Croatia Zoran Milanovic.
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS.
“Planning military needs at headquarters in real time for the Ukrainian army is going to war,” Milanovic said, emphasizing that “only children would think that such NATO involvement in Ukraine is not an act of war.” According to the president of Croatia, “the alliance, through this mission, enters into operational planning for the conflict in Ukraine,” and it does not matter whether NATO forces are physically located in Wiesbaden or kyiv.
RATTLE WEAPONS
In parallel with the creation of a headquarters for Ukraine in Wiesbaden, NATO is carrying out a series of exercises directed against Russia.
In addition to the Steadfast Noon nuclear exercise, Strong Griffin 2024 began in Lithuania on October 14 and will continue until the end of the month. The main maneuvers of NATO troops will take place ten kilometers from the border with Belarus.
Previously, Politico discovered that during the Dacian Spring exercises in Romania scheduled for May 2025, the French armed forces will practice moving a brigade of between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers to the alliance’s eastern flank to “contain” Russia in case of a direct conflict with NATO.
The head of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, stated yesterday that Russia supposedly “could attack the countries of the alliance in the next ten years.”
EXPERT OPINION
The director of the Center for Political-Military Studies, MGIMO professor Alexey Podberezkin, explained on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio (97.2 FM) what is behind the creation of NSATU:
— The key word is optimization. NATO needs to optimize its efforts so that, with dwindling resources, it can provide the maximum possible assistance to Ukraine.
Supplies are dwindling, there are no weapons, what is produced is completely insufficient. Therefore, an optimization is being carried out in which the Americans will try to squeeze the most out of the Europeans, reducing their direct efforts in this area.
The Americans led everything and will continue to lead. They simply want to avoid direct responsibility, reduce their involvement and maximize that of their allies. To achieve this, the focus of coordination is shifting to Europe.
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