Ukraine says ‘no indication’ US weapons to be diverted to Middle East
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A 2024 photo shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visiting a training ground in Ukraine for the US “Patriot” air defence system.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Ukraine's NATO envoy states they've received no indication of US redirecting weapons to the Middle East.
- NATO chief Mark Rutte confirms essential defence equipment, including Patriot missiles, continues to flow to Ukraine.
- Rutte urges European countries to boost their weapons production to address depleted stockpiles due to the Iran war.
AI generated
BRUSSELS - Ukraine has no indication that the US plans to redirect weapons intended for Kyiv to the Middle East, the Ukrainian ambassador to NATO told AFP on March 26.
The Washington Post reported the Pentagon was considering whether to divert kit as the war in Iran depletes US stocks.
The equipment was reported to include air-defence interceptor missiles ordered under a scheme allowing allies to buy US weapons for Ukraine.
“We have received no signals – either from NATO or from the United States – that weapons allocated to Ukraine under the PURL programme could be redirected to the Middle East,” Ukraine’s envoy to NATO, Ms Alyona Getmanchuk, told AFP.
“Nor have there been any indications that the war in Iran has led to changes in the availability of the necessary weapons for Ukraine within the framework of PURL.”
The PURL programme, launched in 2025, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.
Earlier, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Kyiv was still getting essential defence equipment despite the Iran war depleting stockpiles both in Europe and the US.
“The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow,” he told reporters.
That included US-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added.
Some 75 per cent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the programme, and 90 per cent of the munitions used by other air-defence systems, Mr Rutte added.
Asked about the state of the stockpiles and the pressure they are under due to the need for missile interceptors in Israel and the Gulf states, Mr Rutte declined to comment.
But he did call on European countries to increase their own production capacity.
“They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there,” he said. AFP
