commitment to NATO’s collective security guarantee, which says that an attack on one ally will be considered an attack on them all.

Former President Donald Trump even threatened to abandon those countries that failed to boost their budgets, raising deep concern about the U.S. The United States has for years exhorted its allies to boost defense spending. In a summit statement, the leaders agreed that “in many cases, expenditure beyond 2% of GDP will be needed in order to remedy existing shortfalls and meet the requirements across all domains arising from a more contested security order.”

But only 11 of the 31 NATO member countries are likely to reach that goal this year, according to the alliance’s latest estimates. “Is that too much to ask?”Īfter Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the organization agreed to halt spending cuts they had made after the Cold War and move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense within a decade.Īt their summit in Lithuania, the leaders set that percentage as a floor, rather than a ceiling for spending. “I would like this faith to become confidence, confidence in the decisions that we deserve, all of us, every soldier, every citizen, every mother, every child,” he said. “Today I started my journey with faith in solutions, with faith in strong partners, with faith in NATO … in a NATO that does not hesitate, that does not waste time and does not look over their backs at any aggressor,” Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president, who was to meet with NATO leaders Wednesday, had earlier expressed deep frustration that the alliance was providing no firm timetable for when his country could join, calling that “absurd.” In his emotional speech in downtown Vilnius, Zelenskyy appealed for a clear pathway and timeline for Ukraine. When he opened his speech with the Ukrainian national salute “Glory to Ukraine!” the audience delivered back the traditional Ukrainian response “Glory to the heroes!” Zelenskyy stepped onto the stage with his wife to loud cheers. Instead of going straight to the military alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Zelenskyy stopped in the city’s downtown where thousands of people had gathered for a concert organized by civil society groups in support of Ukraine.

World of warships force update