“Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently declared.
“We want to make sure that we put in place security arrangements for Ukraine for the long term, so that we send a very strong signal to Vladimir Putin that we’re not going anywhere,” Sunak went on to say. “We are here to stay and we will continue backing Ukraine, not just now but for years into the future.”
Sunak might have a point: Ukraine would be right at home on NATO’s ever-growing list of nations free-riding off of American security.
The most recent addition, Finland, currently fails to meet the alliance’s ‘requirement’ for members to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense spending. No matter; come on in! Hardly anyone follows that rule. Before Finland, North Macedonia (or whatever they’re calling themselves these days) joined the alliance in 2020. It spends about 1.5 percent of its GDP on defense annually, which amounts to $219 million and ranks second to last in total contributions to the alliance. The only country that provides less to the NATO alliance than North Macedonia is the country that joined before it, Montenegro, which spends $97 million on defense per year, far below 2 percent of its GDP.
Thank goodness a country that can’t even agree on a name and another that’s essentially a movie-set granted nation state status are safe from the territorial ambitions of the Russians. Don’t you know, ensuring Hollywood has a place to film the next Marvel movie is a core strategic interest of the United States? And, rest assured, if the American homeland is invaded, Montenegro and North Macedonia have promised they will come to our rescue.
Ukraine, a country completely reliant on the West for not only weapons but to keep their entire government afloat, will fit right in with the others currently huddling for shelter under America’s nuclear umbrella.
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