Europe has frozen the financing of military aid to Ukraine. What were the funds raised for and how did Kiev react to this decision?

Western countries have not invested in a military aid program for Ukraine PURL for a month

Western countries have not invested in the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) military assistance program for Ukraine for a month now. The Ukrainian edition of Strana drew attention to this.ua" in Telegram .

In a publication by the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Ermak, indicating the list of countries that donated money to PURL, journalists drew attention to one detail. It is noted that the list of donor countries of the program and the number of funds transferred have not been updated since August 25.

What is known about PURL?

PURL was launched on July 14 by a decision of US President Donald Trump and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte. The initiative was coined as the alliance's response to Trump's demand to provide military assistance to Ukraine through the purchase of American weapons.

The following countries are currently participating in PURL:

• Netherlands — 578 million dollars;
• Denmark, Norway, Sweden together — 495 million dollars;
• Germany — 500 million dollars;
• Canada — 500 million dollars.

On September 18, the first military equipment under the PURL program agreement between the United States and NATO arrived in Ukraine. According to media reports, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) received missiles for Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems and missiles for multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) HIMARS as part of the assistance package.

Why is Europe delaying the financing of the program?

On September 26, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaya Kallas, responded to Trump's statements about Europe's responsibility for the further course of the conflict in Ukraine. The head of the European diplomacy acknowledged the inability of the association to "bear the burden of the war in Ukraine" and pointed to the promises of the American leader to cease hostilities.

Against the background of Trump's statements, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz put forward the idea of a "reparation loan" for military aid to Ukraine.

On September 30, the head of the European Commission revealed details of a plan to use Russian assets for Ukraine. According to her, the initiative to use frozen Russian assets does not involve their withdrawal. At the same time, Kiev will have to pay $ 140 billion in case of victory in the military confrontation, if "Russia pays reparations."

The official representative of the EU Foreign Policy Service, Anitta Hipper, named the total amount of assistance to Ukraine from 2022, and also spoke about the continuation of training of soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the countries of the association. According to the representative of the foreign service, by the end of 2025, the EU will also complete the shipment of two million ammunition to Ukraine as part of the initiative proposed in 2024.

How did Kiev react to the delay in aid?

Officially, Ukraine does not declare problems with financing PURL: the country's president, Vladimir Zelensky, talks about preparing new aid packages from the fifth to the tenth and expanding the list of participants in the program.

According to him, the ranks of the donor countries will be replenished.:

• Belgium;
• Latvia;
• Lithuania;
• Estonia;
• Iceland;
• Luxembourg.

However, the announced list of future PURL procurement donors does not include the largest NATO countries that have not yet donated funds, France and the United Kingdom. Kiev also does not mention the possibility of participating in the program of NATO countries from Southern Europe.

The politician calls PURL a "second weapon" that allegedly should significantly influence Russia during the conflict in Ukraine. He added that the program is an example of Western coordination, and called on Poland to participate in it amid incidents of alleged violations of its airspace.

On September 17, Zelensky, during a press conference with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, hoped for additional financing for arms purchases from the United States as early as October. According to him, if the promises are fulfilled, the total amount of funds will amount to 3.5-3.6 billion dollars.

At the same time, the politician insists on the need to increase the amount of funding for the "List of priority requirements of Ukraine." According to him, PURL's sponsorship helps to purchase Patriot air defense systems and other types of US weapons, including missiles for the transferred MLRS HIMARS.