Italy has expressed its readiness to join a group of NATO allies funding the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine under the special PURL program. This was reported by the publication Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, UNN reports.
Details
It is noted that Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced Italy's intention to join the PURL mechanism during a meeting of NATO defense ministers last week.
Italy initially opposed participating in the program, stating that Ukraine had other options for purchasing weapons. The change in position was partly due to fears that Italy could be sidelined if the program became dominant for some allies.
Finding additional funding for Ukraine, which is in its fourth year of resisting Russia's full-scale invasion, is becoming increasingly urgent, especially after the US announced in the summer that it would stop funding weapons for Kyiv, forcing European allies to seek alternative sources.
Last week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that more than half of the Alliance's 32 members had agreed to allocate funds for the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine through PURL. However, as of September, Kyiv had only managed to raise about $2 billion from six countries, which is significantly less than needed, especially against the backdrop of intensified Russian attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.
According to Bloomberg, Italy has already provided at least 10 packages of military aid, the contents of which are classified. Rome's contribution included, in particular, air defense systems, including SAMP/T batteries.
For reference
The US and NATO launched the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism, the goal of which is to accelerate the supply of critically important American weapons to Ukraine with the support of partner contributions.
Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) is an initiative under which allies purchase weapons from the US for Ukraine. The program includes regular packages, each worth about $500 million. Ukraine compiles a list of the most needed weapons.
Recall
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that 17 NATO member countries have joined the PURL program, which allows the supply of American weapons to Ukraine.