Zelenskyy secures $500 million German pledge for US arms during Berlin talks

Germany will allocate $500 million to a NATO initiative aimed at supplying Ukraine with urgently needed American-made weapons, the North Atlantic Alliance’s press service reported on Wednesday, August 13.

The funding will go to NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program, designed to ensure Ukraine’s future access to US-produced military equipment. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed Berlin’s decision, noting that Germany currently leads all European nations in total military assistance to Ukraine.

The announcement coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Berlin for extensive talks involving European leaders and the United States, held ahead of the planned meeting between US and Russian leaders in Alaska.

The PURL mechanism was introduced on July 14 by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as a new channel for delivering American weapons to Ukraine, with funding provided by contributions from other Alliance members. Under this scheme, European countries and Canada finance the purchase of urgently needed US-made arms from American stockpiles, particularly those not manufactured in Europe or available more quickly from the US. These include, for example, advanced air defence systems.

According to a joint statement by the German and NATO defence ministries, Germany has already supplied Ukraine with approximately €40 billion in military aid since the start of the conflict.

Several other NATO members have also committed funds to the PURL program. The Netherlands has prepared a $500 million package for Ukraine, including missiles and components for the Patriot air defence system.

Sweden, Norway, and Denmark will jointly contribute about $500 million. Latvia has pledged at least $2 million, with the final amount still under negotiation.

By Tamilla Hasanova