Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands have pledged $2 billion in four separate PURL packages. And on Wednesday, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Finland among others were poised to finalize a fifth package, according to three NATO diplomats, who like others quoted in this story were granted anonymity to speak freely.
“Thanks to funding from allies, we are providing Ukraine with critical U.S. equipment,” NATO chief Mark Rutte said as alliance defense ministers met in Brussels. “And today, we heard from ally after ally about new contributions.”
But that growing support is also leaving those who haven’t contributed — such as the U.K. and France — in an increasingly tight spot.
In total, 20 NATO allies have now pledged support for the scheme, Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson told POLITICO.
Now, however, “there are expectations there should be fair burden sharing, and those who haven’t committed themselves need to do it.” he said. Relying exclusively on existing donor countries for more cash “is unsustainable in the long run,” he added.
“Fair burden sharing is something we [have] all been waiting [for],” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told POLITICO, “and as was said many times today … helping Ukraine today is a security guarantee also for us.”