• Donald Trump won the presidential election on Wednesday, paving the way for his return to the White House.
• His past rhetoric has raised concerns about the future of US security assistance to Ukraine and support for NATO.
• But in a new op-ed, the NATO chief said the military alliance could not afford to stop supporting Kiev.

Former President Donald Trump victory in the US presidential election on Wednesday amplified long-standing concerns about the future of US support for Ukraine as the war against Russia continues.

In this context, the head of NATO warns that the military alliance cannot afford to stop providing Kiev with the security assistance it needs to fight against the Russians. Ukrainian defenders face a precarious moment of the war as Moscow’s troops gain momentum in the east and the arrival of North Korean troops signal, as NATO leadership has said, that “darker” times may be ahead.

“Since the start of Russia’s full-fledged invasion, NATO allies have provided Ukraine with more than 99 percent of all military support,” Mark Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister who became NATO secretary general in October, wrote in a op-ed published by POLITICO on Wednesday.

“And we are on track to meet the financial commitment of 40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year,” Rutte said, adding that “what we need now is the political commitment to stay the course for the long term.”

“So far, our support has kept Ukraine in the fight. But we need to do much more to change the trajectory of the conflict. We need to raise the costs for Putin and his authoritarian friends,” he said, referring to the leaders. of China, Iran and North Korea, which have been accused of supporting and fueling Moscow’s war efforts.

Rutte’s op-ed focused on recent ones the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia to fight against Ukraine. He did not mention Trump or single out the US for its military support.

But the article comes at an influential time. Trump has been around for a long time critical of NATO and some member states on their defense spending. He has also repeatedly expressed concern about the large amount of security assistance the US has sent to Ukraine.

The Biden administration has given Ukraine more than $60 billion in military aid since Russia launched its full-scale war in February 2022. NATO countries have also given Kiev tens of billions of dollars in security assistance during that time.

NATO countries sent fighter jets, drones, tanks, armored vehicles, missiles, rockets, artillery shells, bombs, guns, bullets and more lethal aid to Ukraine in what leaders described as an investment to defend European security.

“Supporting Ukraine costs a fraction of our annual military budgets,” Rutte said. “This is a small price to pay for peace. The question is, can we afford not to?”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with Trump in September, was among the first world leaders to send a congratulatory note on Trump’s election victory.

“Ukraine, as one of Europe’s strongest military powers, is committed to ensuring long-term peace and security in Europe and the transatlantic community with the support of our allies,” he wrote on social media, saying he hoped to work with Trump to strengthen bilateral ties with the US.

In Ukraine and countries across Europe, there has been concern throughout the election season that a Trump victory could threaten support for Ukraine, especially after an earlier Republican gridlock in Congress involving Trump hampered operations Ukrainian defenses for months.

At a major NATO summit in Washington this summer, NATO unveiled plans to do so take more control on Western efforts to arm and train Ukraine’s military. The move was seen as an effort to protect long-term support for the country from political uncertainty in the US, Kiev’s biggest arms supplier.

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Lithuania’s defense minister, said at the time that there was no “safe and secure” Europe without US support, adding that NATO “should be ready to work” with whoever wins the White House.

Months later, when news of Trump’s victory broke on Wednesday, NATO allies appeared to subscribe to that approach, with several leaders offering congratulatory messages and expressing a desire to continue close defense cooperation with the US.

One post on social media earlier, Rutte said he congratulated Trump on winning the election. “His leadership will once again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to promote peace through strength” through NATO, he wrote.