Zelenskyy: Ukraine expects $3.5 billion in NATO PURL pledges by October

Kyiv estimates that overall pledges from European countries to buy US weapons for Ukraine will total around $3.5 billion by October, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

So far, European NATO allies have announced more than $2 billion in planned purchases. The scheme was launched in early July after President Donald Trump approved it, following renewed complaints that Washington was carrying too much of the burden in supporting Ukraine.

“We will receive additional money in October. I think we will have somewhere around $3.5-3.6 billion,” Zelenskyy told reporters at a press conference late on Wednesday.

NATO scheme

Under the NATO initiative, known as the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), Kyiv sets out its most urgent military needs to NATO officials.

That shopping list is checked with Washington for availability, and then bundled into delivery packages worth $500 million (€424m) for other NATO governments – in Canada and Europe – to finance.

In August, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands each pledged a $500m package, while Denmark, Norway, and Sweden jointly announced another $500m instalment. Belgium committed €100m ($118m), Lithuania €30m ($35m), and Luxembourg pledged a contribution but declined to disclose the amount when asked by Euractiv.

The first European-financed US weapon packages are expected to arrive in Ukraine soon, with Washington approving as many as two of the $500m heavy packages, Reuters reported.

More to come

Zelenskyy’s $3.5 billion estimate means a further $1.37 billion in pledges will be needed by the end of October.

“Our goal is at least one billion dollars in the programme every month,” Zelenskyy said at the end of August in one of his evening addresses, echoing a call by Kyiv’s NATO ambassador Alyona Getmanchuk to Euractiv to make the initiative “sustainable”.

One potential new contributor could be the United Kingdom which has expressed interest, but has yet to make a formal pledge.

While NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte previously suggested Finland might join, Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen later ruled it out.

(cp, aw)