NATO-Ukraine Relations: Progress and Debate.
NATO plans to establish a new NATO-Ukraine defense council with Ukraine as an equal member, and details will be announced next month at NATO's summit in Vilnius. NATO also aims to bring Ukraine closer to alliance membership and welcomes Sweden into the alliance. The minimum defense spending for member nations will be 2% of GDP, and NATO condemns Russia's nuclear rhetoric and China's nuclear expansion. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed the expansion of support for Ukraine and modernization of munitions to benefit NATO-Ukraine interoperability.