NATO on CrossGov.com

CRS Tells Congress to Weigh Icebreaker Funding and Command Coordination as Russia Rebuilds Its Arctic Forces

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A Congressional Research Service report of October 14, R49487, asks Congress to judge Russia’s Arctic build-up against what Washington is funding: icebreakers, command coordination and allied plans.

The report, “Russia’s Arctic Military Posture: Considerations for Congress”, is mostly about Russia. Its value for Washington is in what it lists as open questions for lawmakers, and in what it leaves out.

Trump Tells Ukraine to Get a New Leader and Declares an Energy Ceasefire Kyiv Says It Wasn't Told About

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On October 11 the President posted on Truth Social: “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine… Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!”

Volodymyr Zelensky said the ceasefire “was news for me.” A senior Ukrainian official said: “Nobody has heard [of the ceasefire].” Overnight, Russia struck the Kharkiv power plant.

No New US Aid for Ukraine Since 2024: Weapons Now Flow Through NATO-Funded PURL Sales

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Congress hasn’t approved significant new money for Ukraine since April 2024, the Congressional Research Service noted in its update of August 31, 2026. The US has committed more than $68 billion in weapons and equipment since February 2022. About $4.96 billion in authority to send weapons from US stocks remained unused at the end of June.

US weapons still reach Ukraine. Since July 2025 they’ve mostly come through PURL, the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, under which European and other allies pay for US equipment. On October 8 the chair of NATO’s Military Committee said Ukraine had received $10 billion worth of US weapons that way.

Five Eyes Under Strain: Allies Limit Intelligence Sharing With Washington Case by Case

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The UKUSA agreement was signed in March 1946, between Britain and the United States. Canada joined in 1948, Australia and New Zealand in 1956. For most of the eighty years since, the arrangement now called Five Eyes has been the closest intelligence partnership between sovereign states anywhere. Raw signals intelligence moves between the five almost as if they were one service.

That still mostly holds. What changed in 2025 is the edges. Several allies now decide case by case what they hand to Washington, and Washington has started deciding case by case what it hands back.

US Spends 3.17% of GDP on Defense While Five NATO Allies Pass 3.5% in the Alliance's 2026 Estimates

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The United States will spend about 3.17% of its GDP on core defense in 2026, according to NATO’s estimates, and still accounts for about 60% of all spending in the alliance. A year after allies agreed at The Hague to spend 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, five of them already spend more than 3.5% on core defense, a bigger share of their economies than the US. Most of the big Western European economies are somewhere between 2% and 2.7%.

NATO's Ankara Summit Kept the Text Short for Washington: €70 Billion for Ukraine and a $40 Billion Counter-Drone Push

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Ankara Summit Declaration, adopted on July 8, 2026, runs to six numbered paragraphs. A year earlier at The Hague, allies had agreed the 5% of GDP target in a declaration of five. Short declarations are now a NATO habit, and they say a lot about how the alliance works with the current US administration: keep the text tight, avoid fights on paper, and announce the real work separately.

The summit was held on July 7 and 8 at the Beştepe Presidential Complex, the second NATO summit Türkiye has hosted after Istanbul in 2004.