Ukraine is asking European partners for an additional €1 billion by the end of the year to support the purchase of US weapons, said the country’s ambassador to NATO.
Alyona Getmanchuk said Kyiv needs fresh contributions so equipment can continue arriving through PURL, a program that funds US weapons using money provided mainly by European allies. “We would be extremely grateful for the new contributions from allies so Ukraine will be able to receive equipment through PURL uninterruptedly,” she said.
Ukraine is trying to counter heavier Russian airstrikes and slow advances as winter sets in. The Netherlands has already pledged another €250 million to buy US systems, including air defense equipment and F-16 fighter jets, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on Monday before meeting his European counterparts in Brussels.
However, many European allies have been hesitant to commit to the NATO-led initiative.
Their caution grew after US President Donald Trump’s administration halted financial aid to Ukraine, and later, after Europe was caught off guard by Washington’s early peace proposals.
The first 28-point draft appeared to lean in Russia’s favor. The plan was later revised in Geneva last week to make it more acceptable to Kyiv.
Negotiators from Ukraine and the US met again on Sunday in Florida. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the talks productive, though no final breakthrough was reached. US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who hosted the meeting, will hold discussions in Russia this week.
Getmanchuk said the ongoing peace contacts “shouldn’t be perceived as a signal to drop support to Ukraine and pressure on Russia — on the contrary.” She urged Europe to agree quickly on a reparations loan. EU members have not yet united on tapping frozen Russian central bank assets to finance Ukraine, an issue likely to be debated at a leaders summit in Brussels on Dec. 18. “Europeans can do much more than draft their own plan,” she said.
The ambassador called the PURL mechanism highly effective. She said it has supplied 75% of the funding for Patriot air defense systems and 90% of financing for all other air defense systems since it began this summer. It has also helped procure extended-range artillery shells, which allow Ukraine to strike targets across the drone kill-zone on the battlefield.