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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. and NATO areworking on a novel approach to supply Ukraine with weapons usingfunds from NATO countries to pay for the purchase or transfer ofU.S. arms, according to three sources familiar with the matter.The renewed transatlantic cooperation on Ukraine comes asU.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration withMoscow’s ongoing attacks on its neighbor.Trump, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n