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The Pentagon is reportedly considering redirecting military aid planned for Ukraine to the Middle East, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the weapons under consideration include air defence interceptor missiles ordered through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme.
PURL allows other NATO members to fund the procurement of US weapons for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte declined to answer the question regarding the Pentagon’s plans at Thursday’s press conference, despite being asked several times.
Rutte said it was not his place to comment on critical support, but assured that essential military equipment “continues to flow” to Ukraine, alongside military intelligence from the US.
The NATO chief did note that since last year, PURL has supplied Ukraine with vital equipment, including 70% of the batteries used in Patriot systems, underscoring the programme’s crucial importance.
Ukrainian officials have openly voiced concerns that Washington’s attention and resources have been more focused on the Middle East.
These fears have been echoed by the European leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron said at the end of last week’s EU summit in Brussels that the Iran war “must not divert our attention from the support we give Ukraine.”
The Pentagon notified the US Congress on Monday that it intended to divert about $750 million in funding provided by NATO countries through the PURL programme to “restock the US military’s own inventories, rather than to send additional assistance to Ukraine,” the Washington Post reported.
Addressing the Joint Expeditionary Force Leaders’ Summit in Helsinki on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europe to “have full capacity to produce all types of air defence systems and missiles for them,” including protection against drones, cruise missiles and ballistic threats.
“We cannot rely on other partners’ industries. We must be confident in our own industry here in Europe,” Zelenskyy said.
“And while we are building this capacity, please remember that we need protection from Russian missiles every single day. I am grateful to those of you who actively support us through the PURL programme, it’s critically important.”
More than 800 Patriot missiles were used in the first three days of fighting in the Iran war, more than Ukraine has received throughout the entire Russian full-scale invasion, Zelenskyy said during a press briefing on 5 March.
Yurii Ihnat, Head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force Command said as Russia specifically targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the past few months, Moscow increased the use of ballistic missiles, which only the Patriot systems can intercept.