NATO Descends Into Circular Firing Squad As Members Fight Over Ukraine Funding

NATO’s top official said that many allies are not providing enough financial support to Ukraine as the U.S. prepares possible changes to its military commitments in Europe.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that support for Ukraine is “not evenly distributed” across the alliance during a meeting with Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. His comments come as the U.S. announces steps to shift away from Europe’s reliance on American military might to uphold the alliance.

“The problem is that it is not evenly distributed now within NATO,” Rutte said during his speech. “So there are is a limited amount of countries, including Sweden, which is really punching above its weight when it comes to the support for Ukraine and other countries like Canada and Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway, and also a couple of others.”

The war has also fueled repeated fights in Washington over how long U.S. taxpayers should continue funding Ukraine’s defense.

“Americans deserve to know ‘where their billions in aid to Ukraine went and what they’re funding there now,’” Sen. Josh Hawley said on Feb. 21, 2025, while reintroducing the Inspector General for Ukraine Act. The bill has not passed Congress.

“President Trump has made his disappointment with NATO clear, and he has consistently said that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defense. Through his America First approach, the President has effectively restored our country’s standing on the world stage, including by securing a historic five percent defense spending pledge by NATO allies,” White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told the