The United Kingdom has joined NATO's scheme to purchase American weapons for Ukraine
The United Kingdom has joined NATO's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative, which provides for the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine at the expense of allies. This was reported by the British Ministry of Defence, Politico writes.
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that London is allocating £150 million to the PURL programme. According to him, allies must provide Ukraine with critical air defence capabilities in response to Russian attacks.
The PURL programme was created last summer to support the supply of American weapons to Ukraine. After new military aid from the US was suspended, Washington agreed to sell weapons to allies who are willing to pay for them for Kyiv.
In 2025, PURL managed to raise about $5 billion. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte previously stated that the alliance could raise another $15 billion this year. NATO defence ministers will discuss the issue of support for Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels.
According to diplomats, three-quarters of the 32 NATO member states have already agreed to join the scheme. Australia and New Zealand have also joined the initiative, and Japan is preparing to announce a contribution in the form of non-lethal aid.
At the same time, tensions are growing within NATO over the distribution of the financial burden. Some countries, including Norway, the Netherlands and Germany, have already made significant contributions, and there are calls among allies for broader participation by other states.
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stressed that PURL allows Ukraine to use American technologies and innovations, and called on all allies to participate more actively in funding.
The alliance is also discussing possible changes to the programme's operating mechanism, which is currently largely based on personal negotiations between NATO leadership and member states. No final decision on restructuring the initiative has been made yet.
