The United Kingdom is carefully considering joining NATO’s PURL initiative for purchasing American weapons for Ukraine, but for now continues to provide Ukraine with assistance, some of which is unique.
UK Defense Secretary John Healey said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius following the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, October 15, Ukrinform reports.
“PURL is one way of Ukraine’s strongest allies helping to meet their military needs. We in the UK are looking hard at the PURL program. We’re looking hard at that with other European nations and nations beyond Europe,” Healey said.
He added that the UK is already “spending more on military aid to Ukraine this year than ever before.”
“We are meeting the requirements that Ukraine has said to us they need, and in many cases we are doing things that only the UK is doing and funding,” Healey said.
“We’re looking at the potential for the PURL scheme. We’re looking hard at that as a new mechanism and we’re looking at that with other European allies and nations within the UDCG beyond Europe,” Healey said when asked whether the UK plans to join the initiative.
On October 15, the 31st meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was held in Brussels. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated that the U.S. Department of War was ready to join NATO’s collective efforts to ensure peace in Ukraine if a clear path to peace did not emerge soon, adding that PURL currently remained the best tool to assist Ukraine.
Photo: Denys Shmyhal / Facebook