Italy ready to purchase American weapons for Ukraine through PURL – Bloomberg
Photo: Guido Crosetto, Italian Defense Minister (Getty Images)
Italy has expressed its readiness to participate in the purchase of weapons from the US for Ukraine under the PURL mechanism, Bloomberg informs.
According to unnamed sources cited by the outlet, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto proposed participating in the PURL mechanism during a meeting of NATO defense ministers last week.
As Bloomberg reports, Italy initially opposed joining PURL, explaining that Ukraine has other channels to receive weapons.
The outlet’s sources claim that Rome’s new stance is partly linked to concerns that Italy could be sidelined if the program comes under the control of certain allies.
Italy has already provided Ukraine with at least ten packages of military aid. According to sources, Rome has, in particular, supplied air defense systems, including SAMP/T batteries. The contents of the aid packages remain classified.
PURL program
As a reminder, PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) is a joint US–NATO initiative aimed at supplying weapons to Ukraine. Under the program, a list of the Ukrainian army’s priority needs is compiled and shared with allied countries.
Once the list is approved, partners allocate funds to purchase American weapons according to Kyiv’s requests. The funding is transferred to a special NATO account, and then the US directly organizes the delivery of the weapons.
On October 15, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that Ukraine had received commitments from 17 NATO countries to participate in the PURL program. However, after the program was launched, only six countries actually allocated funds to purchase American weapons for Ukraine.
