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Trump calls Germany delinquent on NATO defence
Summary
A look back at 26 June 2019, when the US president criticised Berlin over defence spending and Russia, days after a Ukrainian special forces unit won NATO certification.
What did the US president say about Germany and NATO on 26 June 2019? Donald Trump, as President of the United States, said Germany was "delinquent" on NATO defence. He also said Berlin was giving Russia billions of dollars while Washington was expected to protect Germany.
The remark came in the context of Germany–United States relations and put the question of NATO burden-sharing in blunt terms.
A Ukrainian milestone two days earlier
On 24 June 2019, two days before the remarks, Ukraine's 140th Special Operations Centre had become the first unit from a country that is not a NATO member to be certified for inclusion in the NATO Response Force.
The two developments came within days of each other. One concerned a NATO member criticised by the American president. The other concerned a non-member unit that had met the alliance's certification requirements.
