NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte voiced confidence Wednesday that the military alliance will secure defense funding for Ukraine by year’s end, despite ongoing challenges with member nations sharing the financial load equally.
Speaking to reporters after a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Berlin, Rutte acknowledged the uneven distribution of contributions among NATO members.
“I’m optimistic,” Rutte stated, while noting that “a limited number of countries are doing the heavy lifting — but we are seeing change for the better.”
The NATO chief emphasized the critical importance of maintaining Ukraine’s military capabilities, saying “We have to make sure Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight. So there is broad agreement on that on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Rutte’s comments came as NATO works to implement the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism, designed to coordinate and fund defense assistance to Ukraine as it continues its conflict with Russia.
