NATO states to continue funding US weapons for Ukraine despite Greenland tensions

NATO member states will continue to fund the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme, through which European and other NATO allies purchase US-made weapons for Ukraine, despite the recent crisis in European-US relations.

Source: Alona Hetmanchuk, Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, speaking to journalists in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Hetmanchuk acknowledged that there had been concerns at the height of the crisis that arms supplies could be affected, putting the outcome Ukraine needs at risk.

She said that, given the level of transatlantic tension, there had been concerns that, amidst Greenland crises and partly, the negotiation process, it would be difficult to secure the outcome Ukraine needs in terms of military needs.

However, Hetmanchuk reported there are currently no signs that the issue will affect funding for future purchases.

She said she did not hear representatives of any country indicate that they will withhold funding over differences with the US position on Greenland, or suggest that an imminent ceasefire would mean there is no longer an urgent need to provide money or weapons for Ukraine.

Hetmanchuk stressed that the problem and biggest obstacle to funding was an uneven distribution of the financial burden among allies. She added that some countries had already made several substantial contributions, while others had yet to make a single one.

Background:

• The United States is expecting NATO member states to announce new pledges to purchase American weapons for Ukraine under the PURL programme when NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels on 12 February.
• US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker earlier named the three countries that have bought the most US weapons for Ukraine under the PURL programme: Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.

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