Overview
- At NATO’s Brussels meeting, U.S. policy chief Elbridge Colby said Europe should field the preponderance of forces for conventional deterrence as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth skipped the session.
- NATO launched Arctic Sentry to fold national High North exercises under alliance oversight, a move presented as addressing U.S. security concerns after the Greenland dispute.
- The United States is transferring two senior regional NATO command posts to Britain and Italy, a step allies described as concrete burden‑sharing.
- European support to Ukraine expanded, with Britain committing an extra £500 million for urgent air defense and partners including Sweden and the Netherlands adding funding and training support.
- Allies highlighted a shift from spending targets to deliverable capability toward a 5% benchmark, with NATO leaders flagging manpower and munitions shortfalls and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling this a “new era in geopolitics.”