No drop in military aid to Kyiv since US policy shift, NATO official says
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A Ukrainian serviceman carries a shell for a self-propelled howitzer, as he prepares to fire towards Russian troops near the front line in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Despite Trump ending direct donations, Major-General Keller confirms arms supplies to Ukraine have not decreased due to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).
- NATO's Ukraine mission has channelled 220,000 tonnes of military aid in 2025, using funds from NATO countries, with a new supply hub in Romania expected.
- Ukraine's most pressing needs are air defences, artillery, anti-tank mines, and deep strike weapons, with the US providing $800 million in security assistance.
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WIESBADEN, Germany - Arms supplies to Ukraine have not dropped following a decision by US President Donald Trump to stop direct donations to Ukraine, a senior NATO military official said.
After coming to office in January, the Trump administration only sold weapons or shipped donations to Ukraine that had already been authorised by former president Joe Biden, who was a staunch supporter of Kyiv.
Then from the autumn, under a mechanism developed by the US and its allies, called the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, Ukraine has been supplied with weapons from US stocks using funds from NATO countries.
Asked if there had been a drop in military supplies since Mr Trump stopped donations, Major-General Maik Keller, deputy commander of NATO’s Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), said: “No, nothing.”
“There was no pause... it was just continuing and it’s not that the US exactly waits until it is paid for. As soon as one (PURL) package is announced, the flow of material is starting,” he told Reuters.
“We found a lot of European nations actually contributing to the funding.”
‘Enough to keep Ukraine in the fight’
Under Mr Biden, the US had been Kyiv’s single largest military donor. NATO’s secretary-general said this month allies and partners had committed over US$4 billion (S$5.1 billion) so far under the new scheme.
Ukraine remains heavily reliant on US weapons, nearly four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Fighting is raging along more than 1,200km in Ukraine’s east, south, and north, as talks to end the war continue.
NATO’s Ukraine mission has been coordinating arms supplies to Kyiv since December 2024, matching Kyiv’s needs in terms of weapons, equipment and training with offers received from donor countries in NATO and outside the Western alliance.
The United States still provides NSATU’s commander and part of its personnel.
Speaking at NSATU’s Wiesbaden headquarters, Maj-Gen Keller said the mission had channelled some 220,000 tonnes of military aid to Kyiv in 2025, amounting to around 9,000 trucks, 1,800 railway wagons and 500 aircraft packed with weapons, ammunition and other material. There was no annual comparison as NSATU only took up coordination a year ago.
“It’s never enough. But at least it’s enough to keep Ukraine in the fight,” he said.
“Ukraine is able to hold the front line, to defend the skies to the extent possible. And that shows us that we had good support but, of course, it can always be more.”
Second supply hub in Romania
While most aid is currently funnelled through a hub in the Polish town of Rzeszow, Maj-Gen Keller said a second hub in Romania was expected to come under NATO command by the end of January.
The general identified air defences, artillery, anti-tank mines, electronic warfare capabilities and deep strike weapons that can hit Russian airfields or refineries far beyond the front line as Ukraine’s most pressing needs.
The fiscal 2026 National Defence Authorisation Act signed by Mr Trump on Dec 18 provided US$800 million for Ukraine - US$400 million in each of the next two years - as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays US companies for weapons for Ukraine’s military. REUTERS
