US Exits NATO Ukraine Arms Command

By Staff, Agencies

The United States is stepping back from command of the NATO body that has coordinated Western weapons deliveries and military training for Ukraine since 2022, POLITICO reported, citing a US official and other sources familiar with the matter.

Leadership of the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine [SAG-U], headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, will be passed to another NATO member state over the coming year.

The unit has functioned as the operational backbone of the Ukraine war effort, managing both the transfer of military hardware and the coordination of troop training and logistics support.

The handover extends a series of moves by the Trump administration to scale back the US footprint within NATO's command structure.

Washington has already ceded the Joint Command Center in Norfolk, Virginia to British leadership, handed Italy control of the Naples command, and passed the Brunssum command in the Netherlands to German and Polish officers.

Rotational US Army brigades have also been withdrawn from Romania, and, despite a partial reversal on Poland, no forces have actually returned there.

Command of SAG-U will reportedly formally transition from outgoing US Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard to Lt. Gen. Guillaume Beaurpere, who takes over Monday and will oversee the American exit from the leadership role.

Washington will retain a reduced presence through a deputy position under US European Command.

US officials have said the move is consistent with Washington's new National Defense Strategy, describing it as a transfer of responsibility onto European allies rather than a retreat.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced that framing last month in Brussels, telling NATO counterparts that the alliance had for too long been "a paper tiger and a one-way street."

NATO officials said the shift reflects Europe taking greater responsibility for the Ukraine effort, as envisioned in SAG-U’s 2024 founding charter.

Ukrainian officials said the shift could reduce reliance on US politics but warned that NATO bureaucracy may slow aid deliveries, with Europe still unable to match US capabilities in intelligence, targeting, and heavy airlift.