Sweden, Estonia, and Finland on Wednesday pledged contributions to increase spending on American weapons for Ukraine, but countries such as Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom have faced criticism for their restraint, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Sweden, Estonia, and Finland on Wednesday pledged their contributions, but countries such as Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom have been criticized for their restraint.
This comes as US War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday called on NATO allies to increase spending on American weapons for Ukraine after the release of a report highlighting a sharp decline in military support for Ukraine in July and August.
"You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your fingers, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect," he told reporters before a meeting with his NATO counterparts at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
Hegseth urged allies to increase investment in the PURL program, which replaced US weapons donations to Ukraine and now requires allies to pay for American weapons supplies.
"We expect today that more countries will donate even more, that they will buy even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring this conflict to a peaceful conclusion," Hegseth said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he expected further commitments, noting that $2 billion has already been allocated through this mechanism.
However, this amount is not enough for the $3.5 billion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped to secure by October, the publication notes.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy reported on Tuesday that military aid to Ukraine decreased by 43% in July and August compared to the first half of the year.
According to the institute, most of the military support now comes through the PURL initiative, which by August included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.