Belgium pledges nearly $120 million to Ukraine under NATO-led arms scheme
The Belgian government said on Aug. 29 it will provide Ukraine with an additional 100 million euros ($117 million) in military aid this year through NATO's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism.
"This funding goes on top of the 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) military aid that Belgium has already delivered," Ukraine's Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said on X.
"I am grateful to my counterpart (Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken) as well as to the Belgian people and Government for supporting Ukraine in our fight for freedom!"
The PURL initiative pools contributions from NATO members to finance purchases of U.S. weapons, munitions, and equipment for Kyiv.
The mechanism, unveiled as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's push to shift the financial cost of aiding Ukraine onto European partners, has already gathered contributions from Germany, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Ukraine hopes to secure at least $1 billion a month from its allies under the scheme.
Talking to journalists on the day of the EU defense ministers' meeting in Copenhagen, Francken said that Belgium will "keep on supporting Ukraine with everything we have," adding that its promised F-16 fighter jets will be "delivered as soon as possible."
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Aug. 26 that the first F-16s could be delivered to Ukraine in the coming months. Kyiv received its first U.S.-made fighter jets last year from Denmark and the Netherlands.
"Russia is increasing its deadly attacks. We stand with Ukraine and must respond to this in unity," Francken said on X. The comments came after Moscow's forces launched a mass aerial attack against Ukraine overnight on Aug. 28, killing 23 people in Kyiv and injuring dozens more.
