US President Donald Trump has played down reports that Washington may redirect weapons earmarked for Ukraine to the Middle East, saying the movement of ammunition between regions is standard practice.
"We do this all the time. You know, we have a huge amount of ammunition. [...] Sometimes we take from one place for another. We are helping Ukraine," Trump told reporters, according to Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne.
Trump added that the United States holds substantial ammunition stockpiles in other countries, including Germany and across Europe.
The remarks came a day after The Washington Post reported, on 26 March, that the Pentagon was considering redirecting military aid designated for Ukraine to the Middle East. According to the report, the war in Iran is drawing down US stockpiles of critical munitions — specifically, air defense interceptor missiles procured under the PURL program.
NATO and Kyiv react
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said US weapons ordered under PURL — including air defense systems and their missiles — would be delivered to Ukraine regardless of the situation in the Middle East. He added that Europe needed to increase its own weapons production.
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to NATO, Alona Hetmanchuk, said Kyiv feared a potential shortfall in air defense supplies under PURL as a result of the Middle East war, but confirmed that Ukraine had not yet received any direct signals that weapons designated for it could be redirected.
What is PURL
The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List was established on 14 July 2025 under an agreement between the United States and NATO. The mechanism allows European countries to fund purchases of American weapons for Ukraine, covering air defense systems, missiles, and ammunition.
Several countries have committed funds: the Netherlands financed the first package at €500 million; Denmark allocated approximately 580 million Danish kroner; Sweden contributed $275 million; Norway around $135 million. Germany has also joined the program.
The first equipment under PURL arrived in Ukraine on 18 September 2025, according to a NATO spokesperson who spoke to Suspilne. By 24 September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said total PURL contributions had reached $2.1 billion within two months of the program's launch. On 3 December, Rutte announced that allies and partners had committed over $4 billion to Ukraine through the mechanism.
