The Pentagon is preparing to give up its leadership role in the Ukraine Security Assistance Group, which has played a central part in supplying and training Ukraine’s armed forces, Politico reported, citing sources. One of the NATO member states is expected to assume responsibility, with the transfer taking up to a year.
The change would shift formal leadership of a multinational structure that has coordinated military assistance for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The sources did not identify the NATO country that would take over from the United States.
Transfer expected to take up to a year
The planned handover concerns the group’s leadership and does not, according to the information cited by Politico, amount to a stated end to U.S. support for Ukraine. The source material does not specify how the new arrangement would affect individual deliveries, training programs or the group’s internal decision-making procedures.
A Ukrainian official said the change could bring more advantages than disadvantages for Ukraine. The official did not provide further details about which potential benefits were being considered or how they would be measured.
Kyiv is also concerned that placing the command structure within NATO’s more complex bureaucratic framework could slow the delivery of assistance to the front line. That concern relates to the pace of coordination and delivery rather than to a confirmed reduction in the amount of military aid.
Kyiv cites continuing U.S. capabilities
The Ukrainian official said the United States provides capabilities that another country would not be able to replace. These include satellite intelligence, targeting support and logistics supplied by heavy U.S. transport aircraft.
“No one will be able to replace American satellite reconnaissance capabilities, targeting, and the logistical capabilities provided by U.S. heavy transport aircraft,” a Ukrainian official said.
In English, the official said: “No one will be able to replace the American capabilities of satellite intelligence, targeting and logistics provided by heavy U.S. transport aircraft.”
The Ukraine Security Assistance Group has been used by the United States and its partners to organize military support and training for Ukraine’s armed forces. Under the reported plan, the leadership transition would take place over a period of up to 12 months rather than through an immediate change.
The report leaves open which NATO member would assume the role and what procedures would govern the transfer. Ukrainian officials’ comments point to a distinction between formal leadership of the group and the specific intelligence, targeting and airlift capabilities provided by the United States.
Further details on the timetable, the successor country and the effect on the group’s operations were not provided in the source material.
