Kiev’s European backers too slow on weapons purchases – Zelensky
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has complained that Kiev’s European backers are not moving fast enough to finance a scheme to buy US-made weapons for the country, calling this month’s progress “insufficient.”
Speaking on Tuesday after a staff meeting on defense issues, Zelensky flagged major issues with the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, a NATO-coordinated mechanism designed to pool mainly European funding to buy weapons – mostly from the US – to be sent to Kiev.
The plan was launched in August as European governments looked for ways to continue supporting Ukraine’s military after US President Donald Trump ended direct arms supplies and argued that the conflict should be primarily addressed by Europe.
“What matters is the real and timely fulfillment of all agreements with our partners. The PURL initiative needs funding, and progress in January has been insufficient,” Zelensky said.
While Zelensky did not provide any figures, funding has lagged behind the targets in previous months. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in November that overall investments in PURL were expected to reach $5 billion by the end of the year. By late December, however, publicly disclosed figures showed $4.3 billion had been committed since August, including almost $1.5 billion in December.
Political frictions inside the EU have further complicated the matter. According to Politico, Germany and the Netherlands want to ensure Kiev can use an EU-backed €90 billion ($105 billion) loan facility to buy US weapons. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, has argued that EU funds should be used primarily to purchase European rather than US-made weapons to enhance the bloc’s military industry.
In addition, while most NATO members joined the PURL initiative in some form, several countries, including Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia, have declined to participate.
Russia has condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, saying they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome.
