NATO will open a command center in Germany to help Ukraine. For its part, Washington will deploy long-range missiles in Germany by 2026.
The southern German city of Wiesbaden, known for its spas and hot springs, will now be the scene of NATO’s efforts to support the Ukrainian military.
The organization will set up a new command center there to plan, coordinate and organize the provision of security assistance to Ukraine.
The command center, located on a former U.S. Army base, will coordinate training and equipment donations to Ukraine and will be organized and led by a three-star general.
It is the centrepiece of NATO’s security assistance and training plan for Ukraine, which was announced when alliance leaders gathered for an anniversary summit in Washington last week. The base will include about 700 personnel from NATO allies and selected partners.
NATO says the command center in Germany will strengthen its support for Ukraine, but will not make the alliance a party to the conflict.
A Ukrainian MP from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, who also fought in the army, said the opening of the centre was an extremely positive sign.
“We absolutely must meet the people who made these munitions and used them in the past, so that they can train us and teach us these techniques.” said Sviatoslav Yurash of the Servant of the People party, explaining how NATO training has proven invaluable on the front lines.
Germany”must rearm“
The center was discussed at last week’s NATO summit in Washington, where the alliance also said Ukraine was on an irreversible path to membership.
A foreign policy expert has warned of the potential limitations of Ukraine’s membership in the alliance, although it is positive.
“Hopefully, this will inspire confidence in NATO’s support for Ukraine, but at the same time, everyone knows, including Ukrainian politicians, that it is the domestic politics of the United States that will decide whether Ukraine will join NATO.” said Leonard Schuette, a researcher at the Munich Security Conference.
Officials have said that Ukraine could join the alliance only when the war with Russia on its territory is over.
During the summit, the United States also announcement that they were going to deploy long-range missiles in Germany.
German Green Party MP Sebastian Schaefer, who sits on the parliamentary defence committee, told Euronews that Germany should focus on rearmament.
“This is one of the realities of the 21st century. It is not very pleasant, but it is necessary. It would be much wiser to live together in peace on this planet. But this is not the case at present and so we must prepare ourselves.“, did he declare.
Despite this, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the ruling coalition had approved less than a fifth of the increase he had requested for his army.