How NATO's role in supporting Ukraine is growing and who within the Alliance is responsible for it
Next Tuesday, the NATO Summit is set to begin in Ankara. One of the issues on the agenda will be the Alliance's support for Ukraine.
Cooperation between Ukraine and NATO has deepened significantly over the past four years. However, the Alliance's role in supporting Ukraine expanded dramatically in mid-2024, when NATO assumed direct responsibility for coordinating and delivering military assistance to Ukraine.
Today, NATO is directly involved in implementing the PURL initiative and has established a dedicated military command, NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), which coordinates approximately 80% of all military assistance provided to Ukraine.
Read more about how and why NSATU was created in the article by Iryna Krasnoshtan of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory: NATO instead of US: how the structure coordinating 80% of military assistance to Ukraine works.
The NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) is an Alliance structure responsible for coordinating the provision of military equipment and the training of Ukrainian forces by NATO member states and partner countries. The decision to establish NSATU was adopted at the NATO Washington Summit in July 2024.
A key factor behind the final approval of the initiative was the uncertainty surrounding the 2024 US presidential election.
NSATU officially became operational in December 2024.
It fully assumed the responsibilities of the International Donor Coordination Centre (IDCC), a mechanism established in 2022 under US and UK leadership to coordinate military assistance deliveries to Ukraine and, later, the training of Ukrainian military personnel.
The new command also partially took over the functions of the US-led Security Assistance Group-Ukraine (SAG-U), created in November 2022 to coordinate deliveries under major US military assistance packages.
At the same time, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG)–better known as the Ramstein format-continues to operate. Established in April 2022, it remains the high-level multilateral platform for coordinating military assistance to Ukraine and includes more than 50 countries, including partners outside NATO.
NSATU is headquartered primarily in Wiesbaden, Germany, the same location where its predecessor coordination groups were based.
The command is led by Lieutenant General Curtis A. Buzzard of the United States, who reports to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Alexus G. Grynkewich of the United States.
The Deputy Commander is Major General Ulf Häussler of Germany. General Grynkewich is also supported by three brigadier generals: Witold Bartoszek (Poland), Patrick Robichaud (Canada) and Richard Bell (United Kingdom). They oversee the command's three main areas of responsibility: logistics, training and force development.
In addition to Wiesbaden, NSATU personnel are stationed at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Belgium and at various logistics hubs.
NSATU coordinates the identification of Ukraine's military equipment requirements in close cooperation with the Ukrainian side, based on battlefield developments. It then matches those requirements with the capabilities of donor countries, NATO members and partners, and oversees the delivery of equipment to logistics hubs near Ukraine's border.
At present, NSATU operates through two logistics hubs: a major hub in Poland and a smaller one in Romania.
The command also coordinates the training of Ukrainian personnel conducted by NATO member states at training facilities on their own territories.
In addition, NSATU supports the long-term development of Ukraine's Armed Forces, planning over a 24-month horizon.
The establishment of NSATU has therefore ensured the continuity and stability of military assistance to Ukraine, even amid political uncertainty in the United States.
Today, NSATU coordinates more than 80% of all military assistance provided to Ukraine.