NATO begins a summit Tuesday in Washington with support for Ukraine’s battle against a Russian invasion topping the agenda.
NATO leaders are expected to finalize a plan to bring what are now individual national efforts to aid Ukraine’s military into a NATO-coordinated program to supply Ukrainian forces.
That assistance is also set to expand with new pledges of ammunition, air defenses and other aid to meet the repeated requests of Ukrainian leaders who say they need more help to defend their country’s skies from aerial attacks and to push back Russian forces along the front lines.
The summit will also address Ukraine’s path toward NATO membership.
Tuesday’s agenda includes a roundtable on women, peace and security hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is set to address a meeting of defense industry leaders and officials from NATO member states, with discussion including how to boost defense production as the war in Ukraine goes on.
Scaling up production and backfilling stockpiles of weapons and ammunition have been a focus for NATO allies as they seek to both support Ukraine’s military and ensure the alliance has what it needs for its own defense.
U.S. President Biden is set to address a commemoration late Tuesday marking NATO’s 75th anniversary.
Biden enters the summit amid questions at home about his reelection campaign following a late June debate performance that sparked renewed concerns about his age. The president has insisted he is fit for office and will continue to seek a new term.
NATO allies could have their own questions, with the history of Biden’s challenger, former President Donald Trump, being critical of NATO and the level of U.S. support for the alliance during his time in office.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
