Official: France supports Ukraine but sits out US arms purchase initiative

France has opted not to take part in the PURL initiative, which involves purchasing US-made weapons for Ukraine, arguing that European countries should instead concentrate on strengthening their own defence-industrial capabilities.

This position was outlined by Alice Rufo, France’s minister-delegate to the minister of the armed forces and veterans affairs, in comments cited by Ukrainian media. Rufo said that while France provides assistance to Ukraine across a range of areas, it does not participate in the PURL program, even though it supports the involvement of other European partners in the initiative.

She stressed that Paris believes Europe must be capable of acting independently in the future. “We want everyone to remember that at a certain point, we need to make decisions on our own and develop European systems. That is why we are preparing for the next steps,” Rufo said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a total of 24 countries have now joined the PURL initiative, under which participating states purchase weapons in the United States for Ukraine. According to Zelensky, since the initiative was launched in August, it has been joined by the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, Australia, Greece, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Croatia.

Zelenskyy said total contributions under PURL have reached $4.3 billion, including nearly $1.5 billion in December alone. He added that the funding has already allowed for the formation of eight assistance packages, with work currently underway to finalise two additional packages.

It was reported on December 31 that Croatia allocated about €14 million for the purchase of US weapons for Ukraine. Romania has also decided to support the PURL initiative, committing a contribution of €50 million.

By Tamilla Hasanova