US Envoy Blasts ‘Dragging Feet’ Allies as Russia Escalates Attacks on Ukraine

October 3 ------ US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker called on European and Canadian allies to accelerate defense spending and immediately stop purchasing Russian energy, arguing these steps are crucial to crippling Moscow’s war machine and forcing a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.

Speaking at a forum in Brussels, hosted by The Atlantic Council, Ambassador Whitaker stressed that while the alliance is prioritizing the commitment of all members to meet new defense spending targets, the “resolution of the war in Ukraine” remains a top issue for NATO.

“Starve the Russian war machine”

Against this backdrop, Ambassador Whitaker delivered a pointed message to allies still reliant on Russian energy, saying that continuing these purchases undermines sanctions and thus prolongs the “completely unnecessary” conflict. Whitaker stated bluntly, “If allies are serious about bringing peace to Ukraine, they need to starve the Russian war machine and stop purchasing Russian energy,” explaining that “Once they do that... there’s a clear path to additional US and European sanctions to impose even more costs and change the calculation for the Russians to come to the negotiating table.”

In a specific call-out, he cited countries like Hungary and Slovakia, which still purchase “almost a hundred percent” of their oil and gas from Russia, as well as Turkey. Whitaker acknowledged the difficulty for landlocked nations with direct Russian pipelines, but he insisted that ultimately, “we have to do these hard things.”

Defense spending

The Ambassador then turned to the other critical alliance priority, reiterating the US expectation that European NATO allies meet the new 5 percent defense commitment established at the recent summit in The Hague, which includes 3.5 percent on NATO capability targets and an additional 1.5 percent on defense-related spending.

Although Whitaker praised the Hague commitment as a “good start,” he lamented that “some of our allies are dragging their feet, and they need to pick up the pace.” He emphasized that these financial investments are vital for the “capabilities, security, stability, and, quite frankly, the credibility of NATO.” To illustrate progress, Whitaker highlighted Germany’s commitment to meet the targets within four years, along with the strong performance of Eastern Flank nations like Poland and the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), which are already investing heavily due to their clear-eyed view of the Russian threat.

However, there remains a need for action from larger economies; he urged countries like Spain and Italy to get serious, and expressed a continued need to monitor France and Great Britain, where he suggested economic conditions and borrowing capacity pose challenges to meeting the goals. Whitaker specifically addressed “the expectations of the US government towards European NATO members to fulfill the newly implemented percent goal and unpacking what’s at stake for the alliance.”

Source: kyivpost.com