LONDON - Britain will provide 150 million pounds to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to support the purchase of U.S. weapons for Ukraine, Defence Minister John Healey said on Wednesday. The contribution, which was confirmed in an emailed statement from Healey, equates to roughly $205 million using the exchange convention cited in the announcement.
PURL was established last summer as a mechanism to maintain the flow of American military equipment to Ukraine at a time when new U.S. military assistance had stalled. The scheme enables allied countries to fund the acquisition of U.S.-made systems that Kyiv needs, with a particular emphasis on air-defence capabilities and other critical equipment.
"I’m pleased to confirm the UK is committing £150 million to PURL," Healey said in the emailed statement. "Together we must provide Ukraine with the critical air defense it needs in response to Putin’s brutal onslaught."
The PURL arrangement allows partners to channel resources specifically toward purchases of American air-defence systems and related matériel for Ukrainian forces. Allies have already put forward more than $4.5 billion through the programme, U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Tuesday, underscoring multinational financial support for that procurement route.
The announcement reiterates the U.K. government’s position that collective funding can supplement direct military assistance from the United States when U.S. aid packages are delayed or constrained. The statement included the currency conversion note used in the announcement - $1 = 0.7323 pounds - to indicate the dollar equivalent of the British pledge.
The British commitment adds to the tally of allied contributions administered through PURL and signals continued international support for supplying Kyiv with U.S.-produced defensive systems. Details on the specific systems to be procured with the U.K. funds were not provided in the statement. The public remarks focused on the funding amount, the mechanism used to purchase the equipment, and the imperative of strengthening Ukraine’s air-defence in the face of the ongoing conflict.
Context and mechanism
PURL operates as a pooled procurement route through which allied contributions are translated into purchases of U.S. military hardware for Ukraine. The arrangement was put in place last summer to address interruptions in U.S. military assistance by allowing partners to fund U.S. suppliers directly.
What was announced
- The U.K. pledge: 150 million pounds to PURL.
- Purpose: to buy U.S. air-defence systems and other critical equipment for Ukraine.
- Allied contributions so far: over $4.5 billion, per the U.S. ambassador to NATO.