NATO defence ministers to discuss Ukraine support, defence spending

Ministers from NATO's member states will meet in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss their support for Ukraine's war effort, as well as their own commitments to spend 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.
Wednesday's meeting, officially, is a US-coordinated gathering of Ukraine-supporting allies and not of NATO itself. Thursday's event is a NATO ministerial meeting proper.
The discussions at NATO headquarters in Brussels have been overshadowed by former US president Donald Trump, who on Saturday told supporters at a campaign rally that he would "encourage" Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to NATO countries that are not spending enough on defence.
NATO member states have since 2006 agreed to spend 2% of their GDP on defence, but only a few have ever met this target.
After Russia extended its invasion of Crimea and the Donbas to the rest of Ukrainian territory in February 2022, NATO member states — most notably Germany — reaffirmed their commitments.
The German Bundestag has approved a national budget allocating 2% of GDP to defence in 2024.
Thursday's discussions will aim to push more NATO member states to meet their commitments.
Also on the agenda is Swedish accession to NATO, which is being held up by the Hungarian parliament's failure to ratify the decision. This is despite promises from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government that Hungary would not be the last member state to ratify Swedish membership.