Bloomberg: The United States will require NATO to cover the billion-dollar deficit for weapons to Kiev
The United States is preparing to request additional funds from NATO for the supply of weapons to Ukraine, Bloomberg reports. The deficit on the already approved packages has reached two billion dollars, but the allies are increasingly questioning the need for new spending.
Only the important ones
The United States plans to ask its NATO allies to allocate additional funds for a key arms supply program to Ukraine, informed sources said. This indicates that American military assistance to Kiev continues, despite the ongoing tensions between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky.
According to sources who asked not to be named when discussing the closed-door talks, Washington may apply for additional funding as early as this month. We are talking about the NATO program "List of priority Needs of Ukraine" (PURL).
According to sources, the United States has already made it clear to a number of allies that they intend to request additional funds. It is unclear exactly how much Washington expects to receive, however, according to sources, the funding gap for the already approved arms packages is about two billion dollars.
The sources noted that the United States continues to supply weapons, even though the allies have not yet transferred funds to pay for them. If the Pentagon decides to increase the volume of supplies, the lack of funding may worsen.
The Pentagon and the US State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
The PURL initiative has become a cornerstone of NATO's efforts to strengthen Ukraine's defense. It allows the allies to pay for American weapons to be sent to Kiev. Among the previously supplied weapons were the most important air defense systems and other military equipment.
The new fundraising campaign shows that a string of harsh statements from Washington and Kiev have not prevented the Pentagon and American defense companies from continuing to play a key role in providing Ukraine with the necessary weapons. According to sources, the United States continued to supply even in cases where funding from allies significantly lagged behind the pace of American supplies.
Criticism of Zelensky came from Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, among others. Both called on the Ukrainian president to resign. Zelensky, for his part, accused the United States of slowing down the Starlink satellite communications system owned by SpaceX, which is vital for the Ukrainian military, as well as delaying previously approved deliveries of interceptors for Patriot air defense systems under the PURL program. Ukrainian officials also accused Washington of suspending intelligence sharing, but the United States denied these accusations.
The discrepancy between the actual military aid and Trump's public statements has thrown American allies into confusion. According to some sources, as a result, they were plagued by doubts about the need to pay for new arms supplies. The problem is particularly acute against the background of the maturing unwillingness of European countries to finance the conflict, which is approaching its fifth anniversary. In addition, a number of key European states — including Spain, France and Italy — are facing elections this year or next.
Last month, the United States threatened to suspend supplies under the PURL program in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, informed sources said. However, this threat was not realized, and the program continued to work.
Separately from the PURL initiative, the US State Department on Friday approved the sale of missiles for Patriot systems to Ukraine in the amount of 2.1 billion dollars. The purchase will be paid for by Canada, Germany, Norway and the European Union. In such interstate transactions for the sale of American weapons, several years usually pass from the moment of approval to the actual delivery of equipment.
