NATO has taken over air defenses in Poland from the US just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to a NATO spokesman, with questions looming about the incoming administration’s approach to the alliance and to Ukraine.

The plans will focus on Ukraine's air force, drone programs and air defense capabilities, among other parts of Kyiv's military, a U.S. defense official said.

Tensions between Ukraine and Hungary over the war with Russia and the expired gas transit deal continue to increase online.

Tensions with Russia continue to escalate as the Ukrainian president shifts tactics and asks allies for help on the ground.

Membership in NATO is the only credible long-term security guarantee Ukraine can receive against future Russian aggression, Finland's top diplomat said on Wednesday.

Ukraine's leader says partners sending ground troops would help "force Russia into peace," as America's European allies ponder Trump's next move.

NATO won't heed Donald Trump’s proposal for a massive hike in defence spending but will likely agree to go beyond its current target, according to officials and analysts. The U.S. president-elect declared on Tuesday members of the military alliance should spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence – a huge increase from the current 2% goal and a level that no NATO country,

"We are supporting Ukraine's NATO membership further down the line and hopefully not in (the) too-distant future," Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Jan. 8.

Ukraine's Western allies will gather with President Volodymyr Zelensky at a US base in Germany on Thursday in their last such meeting before Donald Trump returns to the White House in less than two weeks.

Lago on Tuesday, president-elect Donald Trump marked the starting shot in what could be a make-or-break test for NATO over Ukraine, Greenland, and defence spending.

If Ukraine falls, it will be hard to spin as anything but a debacle for the United States, and for its president.