US, NATO develop plan to send weapons to Ukraine with European funding

2/8/2025 6:10

The U.S. and NATO are

working on a novel approach to supply Ukraine with weapons using

funds from NATO countries to pay for the purchase or transfer of

U.S. arms, according to three sources familiar with the matter.



The renewed transatlantic cooperation on Ukraine comes as

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with

Moscow's ongoing attacks on its neighbor.



Trump, who initially took a more conciliatory tone toward

Russia as he tried to end the more than three-year war in

Ukraine, has threatened to start imposing tariffs and other

measures if Moscow shows no progress toward ending the conflict

by August 8.



The president said last month the U.S. would supply weapons

to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but did not indicate

how this would be done.



NATO countries, Ukraine, and the United States are

developing a new mechanism that will focus on getting U.S.

weapons to Ukraine from the Priority Ukraine Requirements List,

known under the acronym PURL, the sources said.



Ukraine would prioritize the weapons it needs in tranches of

roughly $500 million, and NATO allies - coordinated by NATO

Secretary General Mark Rutte - would then negotiate among

themselves who would donate or pay for items on the list.



Through this approach, NATO allies hope to provide $10

billion in arms for Ukraine, said a European official, speaking

on condition of anonymity. It was unclear over what timeframe

they hope to supply the arms.



"That is the starting point, and it's an ambitious target

that we're working towards. We're currently on that trajectory.

We support the ambition. We need that sort of volume," the

European official said.



A senior NATO military official, also speaking on condition

of anonymity, said the initiative was "a voluntary effort

coordinated by NATO that all allies are encouraged to take part

in".



The official said the new scheme included a NATO holding

account, where allies could deposit money for weapons for

Ukraine, approved by NATO's top military commander.



NATO headquarters in Brussels declined to comment. The White

House, Pentagon, and Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not

respond to requests for comment.



Russian forces are gradually advancing against Ukraine, and

control one-fifth of Ukraine's territory.







FASTER ARMS RESTOCKING



If a NATO country decides to donate weapons to Ukraine, the

mechanism would allow that country to effectively bypass lengthy

U.S. arms sales procedures to replenish its own stocks, said one

U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Money for the arms would be transferred into a U.S.-held

account, possibly at the U.S. Treasury Department, or to an

escrow fund, although the exact structure remains unclear, the

official said.



The new mechanism would be in addition to the United States'

own effort to identify arms from U.S. stockpiles to send to

Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows

the U.S. president to draw from current weapons stocks to help

allies in an emergency.



At least one tranche of weapons for Ukraine is currently

being negotiated under the new mechanism, two sources said,

though it was unclear if any money has yet been transferred.



Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress have introduced

legislation, known as the PEACE Act, that aims to create a fund

at the U.S. Treasury in which allies can deposit money that

would pay to replenish U.S. military equipment donated to

Ukraine.



Ukraine's needs remain consistent with previous months - air

defenses, interceptors, systems, rockets, and artillery.



The last statement of need from Ukraine came in a July 21

video conference of the country's allies, known as the Ramstein

group, now led by Britain and Germany.