Stoltenberg: NATO keeping its house in order while backing Ukraine against Russia

Supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia may be top of the agenda for this week’s NATO summit in Washington, but Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance isn’t ignoring its own security needs.

Allies are providing forces to NATO’s command at a scale not seen in decades. More than 500,000 military personnel are in high readiness throughout Europe. Plans also include integrating new ballistic defense sites in Poland into NATO’s missile control system, Mr. Stoltenerg said Wednesday.

“The most important thing is that we now see that allies are stepping up when it comes to defense investments,” he said.

Only three NATO countries were spending at least 2% of their GDP on the military in 2014 when the allies agreed that should be the bare minimum. This year, 23 member states will hit that mark, Mr. Stoltenberg said.

“This makes a big difference and demonstrates that allies are taking security extremely seriously,” he said. “Those allies that are not yet there plan to be at 2% soon.”

Wednesday was the first full working day for NATO leaders gathered in Washington, and included the debut on the international stage for new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The onetime human rights lawyer told fellow NATO leaders his new Labor government would continue the strong support for Ukraine that London had provided under the previous Conservative government.

Mr. Starmer had meetings with President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the day, reaffirming to both his strong support for Ukraine against Russia. NATO is “clear-eyed about the threat of Russian aggression,” Mr. Starmer told the Ukrainian leader, while revealing his government has given Kyiv a long-sought green light to use British Storm Shadow missiles, with a range of 155 miles, on targets inside Russian territory.

British press reports said Mr. Starmer was presenting to Mr. Biden a jersey from his favorite Arsenal soccer team during their one-on-ne meeting.

NATO countries were moving to shore up their weapons production capabilities as a hedge against the uncertain U.S. November presidential vote, signing a nearly $700 million contract for more Stinger missiles and making pledges to boost their own defense production. Ukraine also announced the opening of a small government defense office in Washington as it monitors the U.S. campaign debate over the war.

Mr. Stoltenberg told reporters Wednesday he expects the alliance to agree to a “substantial package” for Ukraine that will include a new military command to provide security assistance and training. Also, Kyiv will receive immediate military support, including air defense systems. Several NATO states are signing bilateral security agreements with Ukraine: Norway separately announced it was making six of the Nordic nation’s F-16 fighter jets available to the Ukrainian military by the end of the year.

“These elements constitute a strong bridge for Ukraine to membership in the alliance,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “I’m confident that the allies will recommit themselves to Ukraine becoming a member of NATO.”

As he has done in the past when asked about a NATO member’s domestic political situation, Mr. Stoltenberg steered clear of comments from Donald Trump that allies were delinquent before he pressured them to pay up when he was president. The NATO head said bipartisan support for the alliance is in Congress and among the American public. Washington will remain a “strong and staunch” NATO ally regardless of the outcome of this year’s presidential election, he added.

“It is in the U.S. security interest to have a strong NATO. [It] is good for Europe, but it is also good for the United States,” he said. “It makes the United States stronger and safer because in NATO it has what no other major power has — allies.”

— David R. Sands contributed to this report.