Wadephul: NATO’s shared interest is Ukraine’s victory over Russia

03.04.2026 17:16

Ukrinform

NATO countries are united in their interest in Ukraine winning its defensive war against Russia, while the Alliance itself is the strongest military alliance in the world.

This was stated by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in an interview with WAZ, as reported by Ukrinform.

“One conclusion is quite clear: the world has become more dangerous. Therefore, we must unite even more within the Alliance. We share common goals. We have a shared interest in Ukraine winning the military confrontation with Russia. And the United States continues to provide substantial support to Ukraine,” Wadephul said, commenting on Trump’s threats to halt arms supplies to Ukraine in order to pressure European allies to join a U.S. operation against Iran.

According to the German minister, the United States “is making an important contribution to ensuring that Ukraine can resist Russian aggression so effectively.”

“Meanwhile, Germany has become the most important partner in terms of supporting Ukraine. President Zelensky confirmed this to me during my visit to Ukraine. I assured him that Germany will remain the strongest donor,” he said.

At the same time, the German Foreign Minister acknowledged that Trump’s statements about a possible U.S. withdrawal from NATO are cause for concern. “Of course, such statements worry me. NATO is of enormous importance for the security of Germany and all allies,” Wadephul said.

He emphasized that NATO is “the most successful defense alliance in the world” and that “we are stronger than ever.” In this context, the minister mentioned Sweden and Finland joining the Alliance, as well as member states’ commitments to spend 5% of their economic output on defense.

“We must not call all of this into question, but rather build on our successes,” he said.

As reported by Ukrinform, President Donald Trump stated that he was seriously considering withdrawing the United States from NATO after allies had not supported U.S. military actions against Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States would review its NATO membership due to European countries’ refusal to allow the U.S. to use their bases for operations against Iran.