NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has also asked allies to dig deep for more money. “With winter coming, and with Russia’s aggression unrelenting, allies need to do more, especially in support of air defense,” he said during a recent visit to Tallinn.
The missing cash underscores the growing difficulties faced by allied governments in continuing to finance Ukraine. The U.S., once the main giver, has stopped almost all new aid since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
That has left European countries as Ukraine’s key supporters. But many capitals face growing fiscal strains while countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Nordic nations — which have historically provided outsized contributions — have repeatedly called on others to give more.
There is “some fatigue” from the largest donors “[which] have repeatedly financed packages,” the third NATO diplomat said.
NATO’s Ukraine funding is typically channeled toward programs like the alliance’s non-lethal aid scheme, called the Comprehensive Assistance Package, as well as its Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List that has European allies buying critical U.S. weapons like Patriot interceptors for Kyiv. The shortfall includes a $1.9 billion gap in funding for unpaid PURL deliveries, two of the diplomats said.
Separately, allies remain skeptical that they will meet Rutte’s target of $15 billion for PURL this year. “I do not think that there’s a chance we will meet that,” said the same NATO diplomat cited above.
Ukraine’s NATO mission said 29 allies have now contributed to the scheme. Since its launch in 2025, it has raised around $9 billion in total contributions, the two diplomats added.