Ukraine will become a major military equipment supplier to European countries following the end of its war with Russia, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said in an interview with Fox News.

The diplomat said that Ukraine would become a major supplier of military equipment to Europe against the backdrop of increased defense spending by its countries.

Whitaker said that substantial financial resources will flow into Ukraine, primarily from Europe, to assist with the country’s post-war reconstruction.

The ambassador’s comments follow December 2024 statements by Donald Trump, who warned the United States could withdraw from NATO if European countries failed to increase their defense spending from the then-current 2% to 5% of GDP.

During the NATO summit in The Hague in June, alliance leaders agreed to raise defense expenditures to 5% of GDP over the next 10 years.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) previously calculated that global defense spending reached record post-Cold War levels last year.