NATO has taken over coordination of Western military aid to Ukraine from the United States, as planned, Reuters reported today, citing its sources.
The move is aimed at protecting the support mechanism from NATO-sceptical US President-elect Donald Trump, the agency noted.
The change, made after months of delay, gives NATO a more direct role against the Russian invasion, while not committing the alliance's own forces.
However, diplomats acknowledge that this may have limited effect, given that the United States under Trump could still seriously harm Ukraine by reducing its support. The United States remains the dominant power in the alliance and provides most of Kiev's weapons.
Trump, who takes office in January, has said he wants to quickly end the war in Ukraine but has not said how he plans to do so. He has long criticized the scale of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine, Reuters notes.
The headquarters of the new NATO mission in Ukraine is located at the U.S. base "Clay Barracks" in the German city of Wiesbaden.
In the past, aid to Ukraine was coordinated by the U.S.-led group "Ramstein" - a coalition of about 50 countries named after a US air base in Germany.
Meanwhile, the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden is trying to send as much weapons as possible to Kiev amid concerns that Trump may reduce the supply of military equipment to Ukraine.
In his first term as president, Trump threatened to leave NATO and demanded that allies spend 3% of their national GDP on their military, while NATO's goal is 2%, Reuters recalls.
The new NATO mission in Ukraine will have a total strength of about 700 people, including servicemen stationed at NATO's military headquarters in Belgium and in logistics centers in Poland and Romania.
Russia has condemned the increase in Western military aid to Ukraine, stressing that it increases the risk of a wider war.