Two NATO stories, one week: certification and criticism
A look back at how Ukraine's special forces and a US-German dispute framed the alliance's agenda in late June 2019.
What did NATO's debates look like on 26 June 2019? Two reports from that week point in different directions.
On 24 June 2019, Ukraine's 140th Special Operations Centre became the first unit in the country's history from a non-NATO state to be certified for inclusion in the NATO Response Force. For a country outside the alliance, the certification was a measurable step in working alongside it.
On 26 June 2019, US President Donald Trump said Germany was "delinquent" on NATO defence. He added that Germany was giving Russia billions of dollars while the United States was expected to protect it.
Set side by side, the two items show different ways of measuring commitment to the alliance. A non-member's unit met NATO's certification standards, while the president of the alliance's largest member publicly criticised the conduct of one of its established members on defence. The comparison is an editorial one: the reports themselves do not link the two events.
