The Netherlands announced on Monday that it would be providing Ukraine with 500 million euros ($578 million) worth of US military equipment, making it the first country to participate in a new NATO scheme to continue fueling the proxy war.
“Ukraine needs more air defence and ammunition now,” Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans wrote on X on Monday. “As the first NATO Ally, the Netherlands will deliver a €500 million package of US weapon systems (incl. Patriot parts and missiles).”
The following day, NATO said in a statement that Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have agreed to finance a $500 million weapons package sourced from the US for Ukraine under the new scheme, which NATO is calling the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative.
“The announcement swiftly followed the unveiling of the first package of artillery and ammunition worth more than $500m on Monday (4 August 2025) funded by the Netherlands,” NATO said. “Together, the contributions are valued at over $1bn and represent the first two tranches of regular deliveries to Ukraine under the Alliance’s newly-launched PURL initiative.”
President Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced last month a plan to flood “billions of dollars” worth of US weapons into Ukraine that involves NATO countries purchasing the US equipment. The scheme will be another boon for US weapons makers, who have seen huge profits from the war in Ukraine.
Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, told Reuters on Monday that the US expects more countries to announce weapons packages in the coming weeks. “The Dutch are just the first of many. You’re going to see a series of announcements in the coming weeks,” he said.
