Mykhailo Samus, director of the New Geopolitics Research Network, told Espreso:“The organizers skillfully built the entire narrative of the NATO leaders’ meeting around the U.S. president — and it worked. After a successful strike on Iran, Trump felt unusually willing to compromise and accepted nearly all proposals from his European colleagues. While we’ll need more time to fully assess the success or failure of the main NATO meeting, the summit’s results give us reason to hope the Alliance will make further progress — which matters critically for Ukraine,” the expert said.He also pointed out that this time, the U.S. president treated Ukraine and Ukrainians with unusual respect, signaling a shift in Trump’s attitude toward Russia’s war against Ukraine and offering hope for more decisive action on the Russia-Ukraine front.Among the key outcomes of the summit and the joint communiqué, Samus highlighted the decision to classify Russia as the only country posing a “long-term threat.” This marks a significant change in how the Alliance views security. “The Alliance no longer sees the Russian threat as a temporary or regional issue that diplomacy or political maneuvering can resolve. Instead, it recognizes a systemic, existential threat that demands long-term strategic planning, rearmament, and a change in defense priorities,” Samus explained.He also stressed the importance of the allies’ agreement to invest up to 5% of GDP in security and defense — effectively transforming NATO into a wartime defense structure. For the first time in NATO’s history, leaders set clear quantitative goals not only for total spending but also for its breakdown: 3.5% for armed forces and up to 1.5% for infrastructure, innovation, and the defense industry.“Including aid to Ukraine in members’ defense obligations formally integrates military support for Ukraine as a core part of NATO’s collective security. Trump’s practical acceptance of these agenda priorities shows that, despite political divisions, the strategic logic of security still prevails within the Alliance,” the expert emphasized.He concluded that Ukraine’s integration — now practical, not just formal — into the Euro-Atlantic security system creates a new opportunity to build an effective deterrence mechanism against the “axis of evil.”On June 25, NATO country leaders supported a significant increase in defense spending and reaffirmed their commitment to protect each other from potential attacks.