Politico: NATO puts pressure on countries that did not join US arms purchase for Ukraine

Most NATO member states have joined the PURL initiative to purchase American weapons for Ukraine, but those that have not had faced pressure. This was reported by the newspaper Politico, citing unnamed interlocutors familiar with the matter.

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands have pledged $2 billion in four separate PURL packages. And the day before, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Finland, among others, were ready to finalize a fifth package, three NATO diplomats told reporters.

However, this growing support also puts those who have not yet contributed, such as the United Kingdom and France, in a very difficult position.

Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson said that a total of 20 NATO allies have already pledged to join PURL. However, now "there is an expectation that the burden sharing should be fair, and those who have not yet committed should do so," he added.

Jonson emphasized that relying solely on current donor countries for additional funds is "not possible in the long run.".

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur emphasized that "fair burden sharing is what we have all been waiting for." He added that "assistance to Ukraine today is a guarantee of security for us as well.".

Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal warned that Kyiv's needs under the PURL "next year will range from $12-20 billion".

One Allied diplomat said that the PURL "will only be sustainable if countries truly support it." He called on Allies to back up their words with deeds.

This pressure is already having an impact, according to media reports. Spain, which angered allies by refusing to support increased NATO spending at the June leaders' summit, has now left open the possibility of joining the PURL.

For some countries, such as Britain, the problem may be money, said Ed Arnold, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense Studies think tank, given its significant military aid to Ukraine.

For other countries, such as France, he believes this is likely a political problem, given the country's historical reluctance to spend money on American equipment.

Attempts are being made to solve this problem by directing confiscated Russian assets to the arms supply program. This approach is supported by allies such as the UK, Estonia, and Sweden. Currently, the EU countries are discussing the use of Russian assets to finance a €140 billion reparations loan to Ukraine, an issue to be considered at next week's EU leaders' summit.

PURL means directly removing weapons from U.S. arsenals and using European funds to replace them, a U.S. defense official said, as well as contracting for other weapons and equipment at a later date.

• On September 30, Zelenskyy said that the US was agreeing to the fifth and sixth arms packages under the PURL initiative.
• On October 15, Rutte said that more than half of 32 NATO member states have joined the PURL initiative.