This week began with promises of $1.2 billion in arms sales to the Kiev regime, including at least $1 billion to be paid for by NATO members. Whether the promises can be delivered in the real world or not remains to be seen.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, part of the State Department, announced provisional approval of two arms sales to Ukraine yesterday. One is for transportation and consolidation Services and related equipment for an estimated cost of $99.5 million. The second is for maintenance and repair of M777 Howitzers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $104 million.
The DSCA announcements came hours after NATO announced that Denmark, Norway, and Sweden confirmed that they would fund a $500 million package of equipment and munitions for Ukraine sourced from the United States under the new NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative.
On Aug. 4, the Netherlands announced it would be providing the first $500 million NATO package under PURL to Ukraine all by itself. “The Netherlands has often played a leading role in supporting Ukraine, and we intend to do so again. We call on other [NATO] countries to follow our example,” Acting Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said during a NPO2 TV broadcast, reported TASS. Brekelmans indicated that air defense systems, including Hawk and Patriot systems, make up most of the weapons purchased from the U.S. for Kiev, as well as missiles, vehicles, and “all kinds of munitions.”
The Russian embassy in The Hague denounced the Dutch pledge, telling TASS that the Netherlands’ decision to purchase American weapons for €500 million and transfer them to Kiev will only contribute to the continuation of the Ukrainian conflict. It also emphasized that financing the supply of weapons from the U.S. to Ukraine “will be a heavy burden” on European taxpayers.
