Pentagon chief highlights "progress" of PURL initiative and Ukraine's battlefield achievements

Jun 18, 2026 - 07:11

The Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme, a US-NATO initiative under which European NATO allies purchase American weapons for Ukraine, is showing progress and laying the groundwork for peace.

Source: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, ahead of the NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels on 18 June, as reported by a European Pravda correspondent

Details: In Brussels, Hegseth noted the success of the PURL mechanism for procuring US weapons for Ukraine.

"On Ukraine as well, progress. Through President Trump's PURL initiative, allies have taken the lead in funding support for Ukraine's defence. Ukrainians are holding their lines even in the face of sustained Russian assaults," said Hegseth.

He added that the US has been confident that the approach would work, that allies could lead the effort and that it would align with Ukraine's defence needs.

"It is happening, and it's a validation of President Trump's approach, an approach that will set the table for peace," he added.

Background:

As previously reported by European Pravda, a meeting of NATO defence ministers is taking place on 18 June at NATO headquarters in Brussels. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein format), which is scheduled to begin later in the day.
Rutte also said he had met with Zelenskyy the day before, when the Ukrainian president arrived in Brussels on the evening of 17 June.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the meeting at NATO headquarters, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Germany is joining the PURL mechanism for the fourth time to help finance the purchase of US weapons and ammunition.