Main image: Katherine Thompson, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander Europe, testify at a House Armed Services Committee posture hearing in Washington, April 8, 2025.
The United States believes that NATO should take a leading role in matters of military support for Ukraine.
This was stated by the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Katherine Thompson, during her speech in Congress.
'Allies are taking steps to that effect. Last month, for instance, the United Kingdom hosted the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The U.K. and France have also committed to lead additional efforts to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine,' she said.
According to Thompson, NATO played a key role in the U.S. strategy during the Cold War. However, after its end, many Alliance countries forgot how important it is to invest in their own security. Instead, she said, countries got used to the prolonged peace that prevailed in Europe and began to reduce their armed forces.
Thompson noted that Western and Central Europe is home to several of the largest and wealthiest economies in the world, but these countries did not invest enough in their defense.
U.S. Army General Christopher G. Cavoli, Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, stressed that the threat from Russia will only grow in the coming years.
He said that Russia has already demonstrated a willingness to use military force to achieve its geopolitical goals and is actively conducting a campaign of destabilization both in Europe and beyond. Cavoli noted that this has forced European countries to increase defense spending—rates not seen since the Cold War. Overall, he said, defense investments have increased by 40% compared to February 2022.
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