European allies to finance more than $ 1 billion in US arms package for Ukraine
State Department spokesperson Tammie Bruce announced that Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands will finance the delivery of American weapons to Ukraine worth more than $1 billion.
During a briefing, Bruce said Denmark, Norway and Sweden declared their decision to fund an additional package of American weapons for Ukraine worth $500 million. A day earlier, the Netherlands announced it would pay for the first package of American weapons and ammunition, including missiles for the Patriot air defense system, worth more than $500 million.
“Together, these deliveries total over US$1 billion of lifesaving, top-of-the-line American equipment that, as noted by Ambassador Whitaker, will allow Ukraine to, quote, ‘protect critical infrastructure and civilian lives while also staying in the fight until a lasting ceasefire happens’,” Bruce said.
The announcements follow recent developments in NATO’s support mechanism for Ukraine. On 4 August, the Netherlands reported about the preparation of an aid package for Ukraine under NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which included components and missiles for the Patriot air defense system.
The following day, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said that new announcements about military aid packages for Ukraine from other countries under the PURL mechanism could appear soon.
Reuters previously reported on the new financing mechanism for military aid to Kyiv, with sources saying NATO hopes to provide Ukraine with weapons worth $10 billion through this initiative.
