NATO proposes $100 billion five-year fund to support Ukraine – Bloomberg

Leaders of NATO countries may establish a $100 billion fund to aid Ukraine over five years, pending approval from all 32 members of the North Atlantic Alliance, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is proposing the creation of a fund for military aid to Ukraine as part of a package to be signed by alliance leaders when they gather for a summit in Washington in July, Bloomberg reported.

Alliance members are still discussing Stoltenberg's proposal and the mechanisms for accounting for monetary contributions, including whether to count bilateral aid to Ukraine as part of the total, sources told journalists.

But before NATO reaches a consensus on the proposal, the terms of the agreement are likely to change, the sources said.

As part of the aid package, NATO may also take over operational responsibilities from the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which coordinates arms supplies from about 50 states to Ukraine, according to the sources.

If the allies support Stoltenberg's proposal, it would mark "a paradigm shift for the military alliance," which had previously distanced itself from greater involvement in supporting Ukraine in the large-scale war, the news agency reported.

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