The U.S. Army later confirmed the move, but denied it was a sign of lessened commitment to NATO.

Depending on operations and exercises, around 80,000-100,000 U.S. troops are usually present on European soil. NATO allies have expressed concern that the Trump administration might drastically cut their numbers and leave a security vacuum as European countries confront an increasingly aggressive Russia.

The administration has been reviewing its military “posture” in Europe and elsewhere, but U.S. officials have said that the findings of the review were not expected to be known before early next year.

NATO has recently been bulking up its defensive posture on its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine after a series of airspace violations by drones, balloons and Russian aircraft.

European build-up

The Romanian defense ministry said that the U.S. decision will “stop the rotation in Europe of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries,” including at a base in Romania.

It said in a statement that about 1,000 U.S. troops will remain stationed in Romania. As of April, more than 1,700 U.S. military personnel were estimated to be deployed there. A brigade usually numbers anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 troops.

Romania’s Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu said the decision reflects Washington’s shift “toward the Indo-Pacific” region, and that allied troop numbers would remain above the number before Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

“Our strategic partnership is solid, predictable, and reliable,” he said in a news conference.

In a post on X, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said the U.S. “remains committed to Romania.”

“Our strong presence in and enduring commitment to Europe remains steadfast, including support for Eastern Sentry,” a NATO operation along the eastern flank, he wrote. He did not mention the troop drawdown.

After the war started in 2022, NATO bolstered its presence on Europe’s eastern flank by sending additional multinational battle groups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia. Many more European troops are now stationed there.

The ministry statement said that the U.S. “decision also took into account the fact that NATO has strengthened its presence and activity on the Eastern Flank, which allows the United States to adjust its military posture in the region.”

101st Airborne troops to fly out

In a statement later on Wednesday, U.S. Army Europe and Africa said that the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division will return to its base in Kentucky as previously planned but that no other U.S. troops would rotate into Europe to replace it.

“This is not an American withdrawal from Europe or a signal of lessened commitment to NATO and Article 5,” it said, in a reference to the collective security guarantee in the organization’s treaty that an attack on one ally should be considered an attack on all 32.

“Rather this is a positive sign of increased European capability and responsibility. Our NATO allies are meeting President Trump’s call to take primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe,” it said.

It insisted that the move “will not change the security environment in Europe.”

Government officials in Poland and Lithuania, which lie further north along Europe’s eastern flank, said they had not been informed of any U.S. troop drawdown in their countries.

Asked about the move, a NATO official said that “adjustments to U.S. force posture are not unusual.” Under the terms of their employment contract, the official is permitted to speak to reporters but only on condition that they not be named.

The official said that even with this new adjustment, about which NATO was informed in advance, the American “force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years, with many more U.S. forces on the continent than before 2022.”

The official played down any security concerns, saying that “NATO and U.S. authorities are in close contact about our overall posture – to ensure NATO retains our robust capacity to deter and defend.”

___

McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England. Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

The time frame for further arms deliveries that European countries have agreed to pay for is crucial.

Russia is making a summer push to break through along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, and its drones and missiles are hammering Ukrainian cities more than at any time in the past three years.

Ukrainian officials have made no direct comment about Trump’s decision to allow Russia 50 days to reach a deal to end the war, or face what he said would be “very severe” economic sanctions. While some believe strict tariffs on Moscow could be a game changer, the postponement until September struck others as being too long.

For Russia, Trump’s delay of new sanctions is a reprieve. Senior Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev commented: “Oh, how much can change both on the battlefield and with the mood of those leading the U.S. and NATO in 50 days.”

Russian state television pointed out that Trump’s decision would bring a bigger financial burden for Europe.

Russia currently holds about 20% of Ukraine. Ukraine’s depleted army has recently been losing more territory, but there is no sign of a looming collapse on the front line, analysts say.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke to Trump after the Republican leader’s Oval Office announcement Monday, expressing gratitude for the decision to send more Patriot air defense missiles that are vital to defend Ukrainian cities.

“We discussed … the necessary measures and decisions to provide greater protection for people from Russian attacks and strengthen our positions,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram. “We agreed to talk more often and coordinate our steps in the future.”

Trump and Zelenskyy have had a notoriously fraught relationship, and Washington’s consent to providing more weaponry has eased Kyiv’s worries.

Even so, some Ukrainians felt the U.S. decision won’t alter the course of the war.

“If we take the situation as a whole, it hardly looks like this will fundamentally change anything,” Kyiv resident Oles Oliinyk, 33, told The Associated Press.

Nina Tokar, 70, was also skeptical. “I have very little faith in (Trump). He says one thing today, and tomorrow he may say something else.”

A Ukrainian army officer fighting in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region said the 50-day delay on sanctions “is a very long time.”

“They (the Russians) will say, ‘Give us two more weeks,’ and then in two weeks, ‘Give us another week.’ It will drag on until October or November,” he told AP, using only the call sign “Cat” in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp agreed. “I do believe that the 50 days that Mr Trump has announced is rather long. It’s up to September 2. I think that’s rather long.”

Much remains to be worked out about how the weapons, especially the Patriot systems, will be provided, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in Brussels on Tuesday.

But, in an indication that Europe is relieved that the U.S. hasn’t walked away from the conflict, he added: “The most important thing is that we now have an American readiness to deliver these most needed weapons.”

Some European countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, still rely heavily on Russia for energy supplies and could be hit hard by Trump’s threatened secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil and gas — an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said Trump’s 50-day delay was a “signal for Europe to prepare ourselves, because we still have some member states that are exposed to imports of oil and oil products from Russia.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said it remains to be seen whether Trump’s announcement will be a turnaround but “what is decisive is that the tone has changed.” The president’s threat to impose sanctions after 50 days is “significant progress,” Pistorius told ARD television.

Cook reported from Brussels.

European governments are reeling after the Trump administration signaled that it is planning face-to-face talks with Russia on ending the Ukraine war without involving them, insisted that Kyiv should not join NATO, and said that it’s up to Europe to protect itself and Ukraine from whatever Russia might do next.

“There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine. And Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks,” U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey told reporters at NATO headquarters, as the organization’s 32 defense ministers met for talks on Ukraine.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said: “For me, it’s clear … that Europe must be involved in the negotiations — and I think that’s very easy to understand,” particularly if Europe is “supposed to play a central or the main role in the peace order.”

Europe, he said, “will have to live directly” with the consequences, so “it goes without saying that we must be part of the negotiations.”

Hegseth denied that the U.S. has betrayed Ukraine by launching negotiations about its future without Kyiv’s full involvement. After talks with Putin and then Zelenskyy, Trump said on Wednesday he would “probably” meet in person with the Russian leader in the near term, possibly in Saudi Arabia.

“There is no betrayal there. There is a recognition that the whole world and the United States is invested and interested in peace. A negotiated peace,” Hegesth told reporters.

Hegseth warned that the war in Ukraine must “be a wakeup call” for NATO’s European allies to spend more on their own defense budgets.

Twenty-three of the 32 member countries were forecast to have met the organization’s guideline of spending 2% of gross domestic product on their national defense budgets last year, but a third still do not.

But Hegseth’s French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, described the wrangling over greater defense spending as “a false debate,” saying that governments and parliaments across Europe are already approving more weapons purchases and bigger military budgets while helping Ukraine stave off an invasion.

Lecornu warned that the future of NATO itself is now in question.

“To say that it’s the biggest and most robust alliance in history is true, historically speaking. But the real question is will that still be the case in 10 or 15 years,” he said, after the U.S. — by far NATO’s biggest and most powerful member — signaled that its security priorities lie elsewhere, including in Asia.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who was chairing Thursday’s meeting, said that whatever agreement is struck between Russia and Ukraine, it is crucial that the “peace deal is enduring, that Putin knows that this is the end, that he can never again try to capture a piece of Ukraine.”

Touting Europe’s investment in Ukraine, Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said European nations provided about 60% of the military support to Kyiv last year and must be involved, especially given U.S. demands that Europe take more responsibility for Ukraine’s security in the longer term.

“It’s very natural that we’re engaged into the discussions,” Jonson said.

His Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, underlined that the European Union has driven sanctions against Russia, has invested heavily in Ukraine’s defense, and will be asked to foot the bill for rebuilding the war-ravaged country.

“We have to be there. So there is no question about it. Otherwise this peace will not be long lasting,” Pevkur warned.

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Hegseth made the comments during the first trip to NATO by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to the Ukrainian government.

What they heard was that President Donald Trump is intent on getting Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for the defense of Ukraine, including a possible peacekeeping force that would not include U.S. troops. Hegseth said the force should not have Article Five protections, which could require the U.S. or the 31 other nations of the NATO alliance to come to the aid of those forces if they end up in contact with Russian forces.

“There will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine,” Hegseth said.

Addressing the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Hegseth said Ukraine’s Western backers must abandon the “illusionary goal” of returning the country to its pre-2014 borders, before Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and seized parts of eastern Ukraine.

“Members of this contact group must meet the moment,” Hegseth said to the group of approximately 50 member countries that have provided support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

“We hear you,” U.K. Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said in response to Hegseth’s opening remarks. Both Hegseth and Healey spoke in front of the press at the top of what would be a closed-door session in Brussels to discuss future aid to Ukraine.

Over nearly three years, those 50 countries have collectively provided Ukraine more than $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including more than $66.5 billion from the U.S., which has served as the chair of the group since its creation.

But the meeting this week was convened by the United Kingdom, and no decision has been made on who might chair the next meeting, if one is called.

Hegseth wasn’t expected to make any announcement on new weapons for Ukraine.

His trip comes less than two weeks before the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Most U.S. allies fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t stop at Ukraine’s borders if he wins, and that Europe’s biggest land war in decades poses an existential threat to their security.

U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to end the war quickly. He’s complained that it’s costing American taxpayers too much money. He has also suggested that Ukraine should pay for U.S. support with access to its rare earth minerals, energy and other resources.

Hegseth in his remarks said that NATO member nations also need to significantly increase defense spending to 5% of their budgets — a high mark that the U.S. does not presently meet either.

“The United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependence. Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security,” Hegseth said.

Some U.S. allies worry that a hasty deal might be clinched on terms that aren’t favorable to Ukraine.

Before Hegseth spoke, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told The Associated Press that Putin will only negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine if its backers continue to provide enough weapons and ammunition.

“We have to make sure that he has no other option, and that means to force him to the table,” Rutte said. “He needs to understand that we will not give up on Ukraine. We have to make sure that we have maximum economic impact on Russia.”

NATO is founded on the principle that an attack on any ally must be considered an attack on them all and met with a collective response. Membership is considered to be the ultimate security guarantee, and it’s one that Ukraine has been trying to secure for years.

European allies have hiked their military budgets since Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, and 23 are estimated to have reached or exceeded last year the target of spending 2% of gross domestic product.

However, a third of members still haven’t reached that threshold, and Trump is almost certain to target them again. No NATO members have increased defense spending to 5% of GDP, not even Poland, which is the closest, spending more than 4% and expected to approach 5% this year.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday in Germany, Hegseth wouldn’t commit to having the U.S. increase its defense spending to 5% of GDP. He said he believes that the U.S. should spend more than it did under the Biden administration and “should not go lower than 3%.”

He said any final decision would be up to Trump, but added that “we live in fiscally constrained times” and need to be responsible with taxpayer money. The U.S. spends about 3.3% of GDP on defense.

NATO leaders are expected to agree on new spending targets at their next planned summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24 to 26.

Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

Hegseth held talks with U.K. Secretary of State for Defence John Healey before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Hegseth’s predecessor, former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, set up the forum for drumming up arms and ammunition for Ukraine in 2022.

Over nearly three years, around 50 countries have collectively provided Ukraine more than $126 billion in weapons and military assistance. But the meeting this week was convened by another country for the first time: the United Kingdom. All previous gatherings of the forum were chaired by the United States.

No decision has been made on who might chair the next meeting, if one is called.

Hegseth wasn’t expected to make any announcement on new weapons for Ukraine.

His trip comes less than two weeks before the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Most U.S. allies fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t stop at Ukraine’s borders if he wins, and that Europe’s biggest land war in decades poses an existential threat to their security.

U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to quickly end the war. He’s complained that it’s costing American taxpayers too much money. He has suggested that Ukraine should pay for U.S. support with access to its rare earth minerals, energy and other resources.

Some U.S. allies worry that a hasty deal might be clinched on terms that aren’t favorable to Ukraine. On top of that, Trump appears to believe that European countries should take responsibility for Ukraine’s security going forward.

Washington’s 31 NATO allies also want to hear what Trump’s new administration has in store for the world’s biggest security organization. Trump traumatized his European partners during his first term in office by threatening not to defend any member that doesn’t meet NATO guidelines for military spending.

NATO is founded on the principle that an attack on any ally must be considered an attack on them all and met with a collective response. Membership is considered to be the ultimate security guarantee, and it’s one that Ukraine is trying to secure.

Ukraine’s security needs and defense spending will be discussed Thursday. European allies have hiked their military budgets since Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, and 23 are estimated to have reached or exceeded last year the target of spending 2% of gross domestic product.

However, a third of members still haven’t reached that threshold, and Trump is almost certain to target them again. Recently, Trump called for NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, a level that no member has reached so far — not even Poland, which is the closest, spending more than 4% and expected to approach 5% this year.

Speaking to reporters in Germany on Tuesday, Hegseth wouldn’t commit to having the U.S. increase its defense spending to 5% of GDP. Hegseth said that he believes that the U.S. should spend more than it did under the Biden administration and “should not go lower than 3%.”

He said any final decision would be up to Trump, but added that “we live in fiscally constrained times” and need to be responsible with taxpayer money. The U.S. spends about 3.3% of GDP on defense.

NATO leaders are expected to agree on new spending targets at their next planned summit, in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24-26.

Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.

Kyiv’s Western backers have mostly concentrated their efforts through the Pentagon-run Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a forum for around 50 countries to drum up the weapons and ammunition the war-ravaged country needs most.

The new plan would be a complementary effort. Announcing the move after chairing a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the effort would be headquartered at a U.S. military base in Wiesbaden, Germany and involve almost 700 staff.

He said that it would help to organize training for Ukrainian military personnel in member countries of the alliance, coordinate and plan donations of the equipment that Kyiv needs, and manage the transfer and repair of that military materiel.

The effort has been described as a way to “Trump proof” NATO backing for Ukraine, a reference to concern that former President Donald Trump might withdraw U.S. support for Kyiv should he return to office.

“It’s to make it proof to any situation,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.

“We have to consider the fact that this (war) might go on for years. We want to have something in place that does not depend on specific persons, ministers, or whoever, but a structure that works,” she said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who leads a stridently nationalist government, has routinely hindered NATO and European Union efforts to help Ukraine. He threatened to veto the plan but agreed to let other allies move ahead if Budapest wasn’t forced to take part.

Kyiv’s outgunned forces are battling to hold back a bigger Russian army. Troop numbers, ammunition and air defenses have run low as the Kremlin’s forces try to cripple the national power supply and punch through the front line in eastern parts of the country.

Moscow has taken advantage of a lengthy delay in U.S. military aid. EU funds were also held up by political infighting.

Ukraine will need to weather the onslaught through the summer, military analysts say, and at the same time train more soldiers, build fortifications and hope that Western military aid deliveries speed up so that Kyiv can mount a new offensive next year.

Stoltenberg has expressed hopes that U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts will agree at their July 9-11 summit in Washington to maintain the funding level for military support they have provided Ukraine since Russia launched its full-fledged invasion in February 2022.

He estimates this at around 40 billion euros ($43 billion) worth of equipment each year.

“We don’t yet have agreement on that,” he told reporters after Friday’s meeting.

His presence underscored growing concerns about cracks in what has been staunch international backing for Kyiv in its war against Russia’s invasion, and worries that Ukrainian forces haven’t made measurable progress in the counteroffensive as winter closes in.

Asked about concerns that Ukraine could get less military support because of the war in Israel, Zelenskyy said there is a “very understandable volume” that the U.S. and Europe can provide. Zelenskyy said he has asked that question himself, and added he thinks nobody really knows but he is still assuming U.S. and European support.

As for the Israel complication, “of course, everybody’s afraid, and I think also Russia’s counting on it, on dividing support,” Zelenskyy said in remarks at a press conference with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said both allies will be supported.

“We can do both and we will do both,” Austin said.

The meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, hosted by the U.S., comes as Ukraine is desperately seeking more weapons to help its troops regain ground from Russian forces before the muddy weather sets in. But political chaos in Congress has stalled approval of new Ukraine funding, and there has been growing opposition among some lawmakers to any increase in spending.

Speaking as he entered NATO headquarters, Zelenskyy noted the Israel war, and said Ukrainians understand such tragedy. But he was also quick to detail Ukraine’s ongoing need for air defense systems and long-range missiles “to push Russia out of our land.”

“Next Monday, we will mark the 600th day of our resistance to Russia’s full scale aggression against our people, against Ukraine. And today, no one can say for sure how many more days we will have to defend our independence and to defend our identity,” Zelenskyy told the gathering at the opening of the meeting. “But we can already say several things which I think are important. First, Putin will not achieve Ukraine. Second, Russia cannot afford a new arms race. And third, democracy can win this battle.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Austin told reporters traveling with him to Brussels that support for Ukraine continues unabated. He said a number of allies will announce they are sending additional weapons and other support to Kyiv. A key demand has been more air defense systems and munitions.

“The energy, in my view, is still there,” said Austin. “And I will reassure them that we remain committed to this.”

Austin also announced that the U.S. will take on a new leadership role in the broader effort to build Ukraine’s air force, specifically with F-16 fighter jets. He said the U.S. will co-lead a coalition along with Denmark and Netherlands, and will help organize donation of the aircraft, plans to sustain and maintain them and pilot training. That training has already started in the U.S. Austin said the training will likely take months and it may not be until next spring that Ukraine is operating the F-16s.

He asserted that Ukraine is making steady progress in the war. And he said allies during this meeting would focus not only on meeting Kyiv’s immediate needs but also on setting up plans to coordinate investments in Ukraine’s future force.

This was also the first Ukraine contact group meeting for U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. CQ Brown, who said that additional commitments of weapons and conversations with allies convinced him “we’re putting Ukraine in a good spot” ahead of the winter fight.

The contact group is the main forum for raising contributions of weapons, equipment and training for Kyiv’s war effort. It meets about once a month, in person and virtually, and this is the 16th gathering.

Zelenskyy, who was greeted with applause as he entered the building, went immediately into a private session with Austin and U.S. Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Speaking to reporters as he came in, Zelenskyy reiterated his country’s need for long-range missiles and ammunition.

“It’s very important that there are priorities. There are air defense systems. These are not just basic words. These are very concrete things and we need them,” Zelenskyy said.

Following that meeting, the 31 allies and Ukraine will take part in the first NATO-Ukraine Council at this level. The forum was formally established in July as part of efforts to bring Kyiv closer to the alliance. It allows NATO and Kyiv to discuss issues of common interest and concern.

The new package of U.S. aid includes AIM-9M missiles that Austin said will be used with a new surface-to-air missile defense system that the U.S. will soon deliver to Ukraine. In addition, the U.S. will provide counter-drone systems, munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), artillery, electronic warfare equipment, demolition munitions, anti-armor systems and more than 16 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

The weapons are provided under presidential drawdown authority, so will be taken from Pentagon stocks and delivered quickly to the battlefield.

Associated Press writer Raf Casert contributed to this report.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg — the top civilian official at the world’s biggest security alliance — routinely praises allies for helping Ukraine’s troops to fight back. But when he does, Stoltenberg is talking about individual member countries, not NATO as an organization.

As a NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital begins Tuesday, here’s a look at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and what it’s doing to help Ukraine.

NATO’S SUPPORT NON-LETHAL ONLY

The 31-nation military alliance provides only non-lethal support to Ukraine: Fuel, combat rations, medical supplies, body armor, winter uniforms and equipment to counter mines, chemical and biological threats and drones.

NATO makes its decisions by consensus, and not all member countries agree on sending weapons. The alliance does not impose sanctions, although some of its members do through other organizations like the European Union.

FUTURE UKRAINE MEMBERSHIP

NATO is helping Ukraine’s armed forces to modernize and shift from Soviet-era equipment and military doctrine to modern NATO gear to allow its army to work seamlessly with allied forces. NATO is also helping to strengthen Ukraine’s defense and security institutions.

That assistance is designed to ensure that Ukraine can join NATO at some point in the future, well after the war is over. U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts — who are meeting for a summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius — have promised that the country will eventually gain membership.

NATO READINESS IN THE REGION

NATO’s primary goal since Russia began building up its troops around Ukraine in 2021 has been to reinforce its own territory, particularly the countries on its eastern flank — so near to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus — from Estonia in the north down to Romania on the Black Sea.

With the war now in its 17th month, NATO wants to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from broadening the conflict to allied territory farther west.

Around 40,000 troops are on standby along the eastern flank. About 100 aircraft take to the skies in that territory on any given day, and a total of 27 warships are operating in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas this month. Those numbers are set to rise.

Under new plans to be endorsed in Vilnius, NATO aims to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days. The plans divide its territory into three zones — the high north and Atlantic area, a zone north of the Alps, and another in southern Europe.

MEMBER COUNTRIES

The forces and materiel that NATO drums up for its own defense come from the member countries. NATO has no weapons of its own. The battleships, warplanes, missiles and potential pool of more than 3 million personnel are owned and supplied by member states, mostly at their own cost.

The only equipment NATO has is a fleet of early warning radar planes and some surveillance drones.

The NATO alliance, with its main headquarters in Brussels and military base in Mons, Belgium, is open to any European nation that wants to join and can meet the requirements and obligations. Finland entered in April, and its Nordic neighbor Sweden is on the cusp of joining its ranks.

The Soviet Union, during the Cold War, and Russia have been major preoccupations since the organization was founded in 1949, and in many ways remain the NATO’s reason for being.

U.S.’ DOMINANT PRESENCE

The United States is without doubt the biggest and most influential member. It spends more on its own military budget than all the others combined. It also pays almost a quarter of NATO’s common funding for infrastructure and collectively owned equipment.

So, Washington has a big say in how things are run, and smaller allies long to train and work with U.S. forces because it gives them access to equipment and expertise that they cannot afford alone.

STOLTENBERG’S ROLE

The North Atlantic Council meets at ambassadorial level most weeks in Brussels, and less often at the ministerial and heads of state levels, and are chaired by Stoltenberg.

In essence, the former Norwegian prime minister runs the headquarters located near the Brussels airport, a sprawling, cavernous edifice that cost over 1 billion euros to build.

Stoltenberg does not order the allies around. His job is to encourage consensus and speak on their behalf publicly as a single voice representing all 31 members.

COMMON DEFENSE CLAUSE

On the ground, NATO has helped to keep peace in the Balkans and fought the Taliban-led insurgency in war-torn Afghanistan before the group took control of the country — the alliance’s biggest-ever operation. It was launched after the United States triggered its “all for one and one for all” common defense clause in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

It is the only time the clause, known as Article 5, has been used. That security guarantee is the reason Finland and Sweden sought to join NATO and why Ukraine and other countries in Europe also want in.

At a two-day summit starting Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts will also agree to boost defense spending as allies pour weapons, ammunition and other support like uniforms and medical equipment into Ukraine, 17 months into the war.

They also hope to welcome Sweden as the next member of the world’s biggest security organization, if they can overcome Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objections, even though its accession would only be made official in coming months.

“For 500 days, Moscow has brought death and destruction to the heart of Europe, seeking to destroy Ukraine and divide NATO,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Friday. “At the summit, we will make Ukraine even stronger, and set out a vision for its future.”

Stoltenberg said the leaders “will agree a multi-year program of assistance to ensure full interoperability between the Ukrainian armed forces and NATO.”

A NATO-Ukraine Council – where crisis talks can be held – will be established. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky will attend the council’s first meeting in Vilnius on Wednesday

Stoltenberg said the leaders “will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and unite on how to bring Ukraine closer to its goal.” NATO first pledged that Ukraine would become a member one day in 2008, but things have evolved little since then.

Asked when, or how, Ukraine might join, Stoltenberg said that the “most important thing now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails.” The U.S., Germany and some other allies consider that Ukraine should not be invited in while it’s at war, so as not to encourage Russia to widen the conflict.

With Ukraine imploring its Western partners for more weapons and ammunition, and national military stocks among its partners depleting, NATO is encouraging the 31 allies to boost their military budgets.

In 2014, NATO allies pledged to move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense by 2024. In Vilnius, they will make 2% the minimum, but will not set any time frame for achieving that goal, NATO officials say. Under new estimates released Friday, only 11 of the allies will reach the 2% goal in 2023.

But Stoltenberg said that good progress is being made. “In 2023, there will be a real increase of 8.3% across European Allies and Canada. This is the biggest increase in decades,” he said, adding that European Allies and Canada will have invested over $450 billion extra since 2014.

Question marks remain about Sweden’s future at NATO. It abandoned a long history of military nonalignment last year to seek protection under the organization’s security umbrella after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Erdogan appears set to steal the summit limelight. He accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.

Hungary is also holding up approval of Sweden’s candidacy, but has never clearly stated publicly what its concerns are. NATO officials expect that Hungary will follow suit once Turkey lifts its objections.

The other 29 allies, Stoltenberg and Sweden have all said the country has done enough to satisfy Turkey’s demands. Sweden has changed its constitution, modified anti-terror laws and lifted an arms embargo on Turkey, among other concessions.

NATO requires the unanimous approval of all 31 members to expand.

Stoltenberg, Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will hold talks in Vilnius on Monday in an attempt to break the deadlock.

Stoltenberg said in a tweet that he is “honoured by NATO Allies’ decision to extend my term as Secretary General until 1 October 2024.”

“The transatlantic bond between Europe and North America has ensured our freedom and security for nearly 75 years, and in a more dangerous world, our Alliance is more important than ever,” he said.

Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has been NATO’s top civilian official since 2014. His term had been due to expire last year but was extended then to keep a steady hand at the helm after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts had been due to name a successor when they meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. But the world’s biggest security organization makes decisions by consensus, and no agreement could be found on a new candidate.

“With his steady leadership, experience, and judgement, Secretary General Stoltenberg has brought our Alliance through the most significant challenges in European security since World War II,” Biden said in a statement. “Today, our Alliance is stronger, more united and purposeful than it has ever been.”

Stoltenberg’s fellow countryman, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, welcomed the news, saying that it was “good, important and reassuring.”

“It is also important that this was now clarified before the summit in Vilnius next week,” Gahr Støre was quoted as saying by the Norwegian news agency NTB. He said that NATO’s unity “is particularly crucial in a troubled time of war in Europe.”

Most NATO countries had been keen to name a woman to the top post, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was thought to be a favorite after a meeting with Biden last month.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, ruled out her candidacy. Other possible names floated, but never publicly named as in the running, were Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

It’s the fourth time Stoltenberg has had his mandate extended. He’s the second-longest serving NATO secretary-general after former Dutch foreign minister Joseph Luns, who spent almost 13 years at the helm from 1971.

Quizzed repeatedly in recent weeks over whether he would agree to have his term renewed, Stoltenberg said that he was not seeking to stay and had no plans other than to continue to carry out his duties and wrap his time at the helm in September.

NATO secretaries-general are responsible for chairing meetings and guiding sometimes delicate consultations between the member countries to ensure that compromises are found so that an organization that operates on consensus can continue to function.

They also ensure that decisions are put into action and speak on behalf of all nations with one voice.

Stoltenberg has managed to tread a very fine line, refraining from criticizing members led by more go-it-alone presidents and prime ministers, like former U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

With NATO’s historical adversary, Russia, locked in a war with Ukraine, the process of naming a new secretary-general has become highly politicized.

Poland opposes the next secretary-general coming from a Nordic state after Stoltenberg’s long tenure, and that of his predecessor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen from Denmark. Polish officials wanted someone from a Baltic state. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was a preferred candidate.

But other countries are wary of accepting a nominee from the Baltics or Poland, given what appears to be their unconditional support for Ukraine, including on NATO membership, which the U.S. and Germany, among others, insist should not happen before the war ends.

In naming Fogh Rasmussen, a former Danish premier, their 12th secretary general in 2009, NATO’s leaders signaled that they wanted a government leader or president at the head of their organization. This has made the path almost impossible for Wallace.

Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this report.