NATO ministers to discuss European defence, Ukraine support

NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss Europe's defence and support for Ukraine, with European allies facing pressure to shoulder more responsibility as US priorities shift to other regions.

The meeting comes after NATO announced it was increasing its presence in the Arctic and the surrounding area after a dispute over Greenland led to a rift between the United States and European allies.

US President Donald Trump had at times threatened to annex the Danish-administered island, justifying it by saying that Russia or China might otherwise seize it.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to be represented by Under Secretary Elbridge Colby at Thursday's meeting. This makes Hegseth the second US Cabinet official to skip a high-level NATO meeting in recent months after State Secretary Marco Rubio abstained from a foreign ministers' meeting in December.

Hegseth shocked NATO allies at last year's defence ministers' meeting with blistering remarks on Europe's low defence spending and military dependency on the US, as well as by ruling out a future NATO membership for Ukraine.

Regarding support for Ukraine, NATO ministers will be joined by Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov for the first time since he took office in January.

At the end of the official NATO meeting, Germany and Britain are to chair a meeting of Ukraine's closest allies with the aim of gathering pledges for new military support.