Italy joins PURL initiative
Italy is ready to join the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) program, which channels military aid to Ukraine (Photo: Ukraine's General Staff / Facebook)
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed Rome’s readiness to join the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) program, which channels military aid to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 20, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.
Italy had initially resisted participation, arguing that Kyiv already had alternative mechanisms for obtaining weapons. However, during last week’s meeting of NATO defense ministers Rome shifted its position partly due to concern that it could be excluded from the program if it became a key instrument for some NATO allies.
According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte more than half of the alliance’s 32 member states have agreed to allocate funds under the PURL program to help Ukraine acquire American-made arms.
Military support for Ukraine has fallen sharply in recent months, particularly after the United States stopped directly funding weapons deliveries in mid-2025. Backed primarily by European nations, the PURL procurement program now serves as a key mechanism for supplying Ukraine with air defense systems and other U.S.-made weapons and military technologies through voluntary contributions.
As of September, Kyiv had raised about $2 billion from six countries through PURL — far short of what officials say is needed to counter Russia’s renewed attacks on Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure.
Earlier that day, Ukraine's Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said that NATO’s PURL program would require between $12 billion and $20 billion in 2026.
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