BRUSSELS — May 13, 2026 : NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has proposed that alliance members allocate 0.25% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually toward military assistance for Ukraine, a move that would significantly expand long-term support for Kyiv and raise total allied security assistance to an estimated $143 billion per year if adopted across the alliance.
The proposal was presented during a recent closed-door meeting of NATO ambassadors and is intended to establish a predictable and structured funding mechanism for Ukraine’s future defense requirements. NATO officials said the target would apply proportionally across member states according to the size of their economies.
The initiative follows recent requests from Ukrainian defense officials, who estimated the country’s defense requirements for the coming year at approximately $120 billion and asked international partners to help cover the shortfall. NATO’s previous baseline commitment for Ukraine was approximately €40 billion, or around $43 billion, annually.
At present, annual military assistance from NATO allies is estimated at roughly $47–48 billion through existing bilateral aid packages and NATO-coordinated mechanisms, including the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL). Adoption of the proposed 0.25% benchmark would therefore represent a substantial increase in long-term allied support.
Opposition From Major NATO Members
The proposal has already faced resistance from several major NATO members, including France and the United Kingdom. Officials from both countries have reportedly expressed concerns regarding the rigid nature of a fixed GDP-based contribution system and its potential impact on national defense budgets and fiscal planning.
Some allies argue that mandatory percentage targets do not adequately account for differences in domestic economic conditions, existing bilateral security arrangements, or non-military support already being provided to Ukraine. Concerns have also been raised about institutionalizing long-term financial obligations at a time of broader economic pressures across Europe.
Burden-Sharing Disputes Inside the Alliance
The debate has also highlighted continuing disagreements within NATO regarding burden-sharing and the distribution of military assistance responsibilities.
Several Nordic and Baltic member states have argued that countries located closer to NATO’s eastern flank are carrying a disproportionately large share of support for Ukraine. Governments in the region have increasingly pushed for larger Western European economies to adopt more formalized contribution commitments.
Countries such as Estonia and Latvia have already exceeded the proposed 0.25% threshold through bilateral military aid and have publicly supported the establishment of alliance-wide proportional funding commitments.
Upcoming NATO Discussions in Sweden
The proposal is expected to become a central topic during the upcoming NATO foreign ministers’ meeting scheduled for May 21–22 in Helsingborg. The gathering will be the first NATO ministerial meeting hosted by Sweden since joining the alliance in 2024.
Alliance members are expected to discuss the proposed financial targets, broader questions surrounding long-term military assistance for Ukraine, and ongoing disagreements over burden-sharing ahead of the NATO summit scheduled for July 2026 in Ankara.
NATO continues coordinating security assistance to Ukraine through frameworks including the Comprehensive Assistance Package and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. Alliance members previously exceeded earlier funding baselines by providing more than €50 billion in security assistance during 2024, followed by additional military aid commitments in 2025 and 2026.
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