CNN reported on Jan. 9 that NATO has assumed operational control of air defenses in Poland. NATO assumed command and control from the US on Thursday, Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe told CNN. The article reports that “NATO will help to safeguard logistics nodes in Poland that are needed to continue delivering aid crucial to Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. The move is part of a broader effort that has been in the works for months to shift the burden of helping Ukraine from the US to European countries, amid questions over whether US support would continue under the Trump administration.”
Ahead of the imminent transfer of power, the US has worked to transition aid to Ukraine from a US-led effort to a NATO-led mechanism in part to “Trump-proof” the assistance, CNN reported. “That work is ongoing, with NATO shouldering more and more responsibility every day,” said O’Donnell.
