NATO members Sweden, Finland and Estonia on Wednesday pledged to increase spending on US weapons for Ukraine. Other member states Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom faced criticism for their restraint.
This comes after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged NATO countries to boost their purchase of American weapons for Ukraine after a report revealed a significant drop in military aid for Ukraine during July and August.
Hegseth told reports before a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels: "You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your fingers, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect. Our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion."
He pressed allies to increase funding for the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program, which has taken the place of US arms donations to Ukraine and now relies on allied nations to cover the cost of American weapons shipments. According to the report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy on Tuesday, military aid to Ukraine dropped by 43% in July and August compared to the first half of the year.The institute reported that the majority of military aid is now provided through the PURL initiative, which by August had participation from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed confidence in additional pledges, pointing out that $2 billion has already been committed through this initiative.
