Twenty NATO countries are so far willing to buy weapons from the United States on behalf of Ukraine. In this way, they want to close the gap that exists in support because American President Donald Trump does not want to deliver to Kyiv at his own expense.
Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte agreed this summer that the US would quickly make large quantities of weapons from its own stockpiles available to Ukraine, provided that Europe and Canada foot the bill. The US must supply $1 billion worth of weapons every month. No end date has been agreed for the arrangement and NATO officials say they are already planning deliveries for the first months of next year.
A group of six countries, including the Netherlands and Germany, quickly signed up for the new construction. In recent weeks, Rutte has personally recruited allies for the program known in NATO circles as PURL, Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, Ukraine’s wish list.
Peace comes when you are strong
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also called on Europeans during a NATO meeting on Wednesday to buy more American goods for Kyiv. “You achieve peace when you are strong. Not when you use big words or wave your finger. You achieve it when you have means that command respect from your opponent,” he said before the meeting.
During the meeting, countries reportedly announced approximately $1 billion in US purchases. This means that around $3 billion has been ordered in the US since last summer.
Optimistic
According to Minister Ruben Brekelmans (Defense, VVD), “it is not the case that the US makes money from the deliveries. We have looked carefully at the prices. The weapons are not available elsewhere so quickly. The Americans have said: you can use our stocks, but Europe has to finance it. That is the reality we have to deal with.”
A number of Southern European countries see no point in principle in filling the American coffers and would prefer to see the money spent in Europe. Brekelmans: “It is indeed true that we want to build up our capacity in Europe. Of the 4 billion euros that the Netherlands will spend this year, many billions will go into our own industry and the Ukrainian industry. But the only Patriot missiles that exist now are part of the American stockpile. The PURL packages consist of weapons and ammunition that only the Americans can supply at short notice.”
Rutte is optimistic that military support to Ukraine will remain at the same level, he said. “It is one of my duties as Secretary General to ensure that our support for Ukraine remains as strong as possible. And I am proud that as an alliance we are able to do this so that Ukraine is as strong as possible in the fight.”
Summer dip
The figures on arms support now paint a less rosy picture. After aid in the first six months of this year was significantly higher than before, deliveries fell by 43 percent in the summer months, according to recent figures from Germany’s Kiel Institute, which has been tracking aid to Ukraine since the start of Putin’s war. The overview already includes 1.9 billion euros that Europeans have spent in the US.
When Trump took office at the beginning of this year, the US no longer announced any new support packages. The Europeans immediately jumped into the gap, resulting in even more aid going to Ukraine in the first six months than in previous years, the institute said in an explanation. Then in the summer there was a sharp decline. Europe’s non-military support to Ukraine remained at the same level.
It is necessary to increase the pressure on Putin
Asked whether he is not concerned about those figures, Rutte told reporters: “It has not fallen. If you look at this year, it is more or less the same as last year.” According to Minister Brekelmans, the monthly reports in the German institute’s overviews do not mean much, but long-term trends can be discovered. According to this view, it remains to be seen whether the summer dip in the figures heralds a turnaround.
Ukraine is still dependent on American weapons. A Ukrainian delegation visited major defense companies in the US this week, including Raytheon, manufacturer of Patriot air defense systems and Tomahawk cruise missiles, among others. Kyiv has been begging the White House for months for those missiles, which can hit targets deep in Russia. Trump will receive Zelensky at the White House on Friday.
The Netherlands, Brekelmans said, would welcome the delivery of Tomahawks. “It is necessary to increase the pressure on Putin. It is important that Ukraine uses such weapons in accordance with international law. If the US decides to supply those types of weapons, the Netherlands will support it.”
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