NATO is preparing for the US to play a smaller role in supporting Ukraine

According to CNN, which cites NATO officials, the United States will begin to shift more responsibility for supporting Ukraine to the rest of the Alliance.

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CNN also writes that it is time for Europe to step up its efforts to help Ukraine, also taking into account the likely victory of former US President Trump in the upcoming presidential election.

"We cannot expect the United States to continue to shoulder the huge burden of supporting Ukraine. That is why the Secretary General wants to see NATO as a leader in security assistance, not as a single ally. Europe needs to step up even more," the senior NATO official said.

Trump's potential victory has cast doubt on the future of US aid to Ukraine. Last month, the former president refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "salesman" who "should never have allowed this war to begin."

"I am very concerned. Optimism is not the word I would use to describe the situation [in Ukraine] right now," the NATO official added.

In addition, US Secretary of Defence Austin suggested that Ukraine's own low-cost, long-range drones are a better way to destroy targets in Russia, such as ammunition depots, than expensive precision-guided missiles.

Source: CNN