Journalism of Courage
The Trump administration has reportedly signed off on its first US weapons aid packages for Ukraine. According to Reuters, these shipments could soon be on their way, marking the first time arms are being sent under a new financial arrangement with NATO allies.
The deliveries mark the start of a system called the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), designed to supply arms from US military stockpiles. The difference now is that NATO countries are putting up the money to cover these supplies.
According to two people familiar with the matter, US Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, Elbridge Colby, has already cleared up to two packages worth $500 million each under this mechanism, Reuters reported. In total, the new push could send Ukraine as much as $10 billion worth of weapons.
President Donald Trump has been voicing frustration over Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine, even after his attempts to broker some kind of negotiated end to the conflict. Until now, the Trump administration had either sold weapons directly to Kyiv or facilitated deliveries that were originally authorised by former President Joe Biden, who had strongly supported Kyiv during his presidential term.
While officials have not released a full inventory, reports confirmed that the packages include air defence systems, a top priority for Ukraine as Russian drone and missile strikes intensify. One source, quoted by Reuters, explained that the PURL list has already cleared the Pentagon’s policy division and is now moving through the next steps.
The same source described the packages as exactly the type of weapons Ukraine has been repeatedly requesting. “It’s the stuff they’ve been asking for. A lot of stuff,” said the source. “It’s the flow that’s allowed them to stabilise the lines thus far.” The Pentagon itself hasn’t made any public comment.
Military experts say that Ukraine’s needs haven’t really changed in recent months. The focus is still on air defences, interceptor missiles, artillery, rocket systems, and other battlefield weapons.
This comes a day after Trump’s military officials were spotted in Belarus on Monday, watching joint war games between Russia and its close ally. The US had accepted Minsk’s invitation to attend “Zapad-2025” drills as part of a visitor program for foreign defence officials.
Photos showed American officers among observers from several countries, for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the invitation was taken up in light of recent productive bilateral engagements between Washington and Minsk. He added that such visits are standard military practice.
“The US Embassy in Minsk, Belarus received an invitation for our Defense Attache to attend the ZAPAD-2025 military exercise in Belarus as part of the Distinguished Visitor (DV) Day, and we accepted the invitation in light of recent productive bilateral engagements between our countries,” said chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
“Attending exercise DV days is a common practice between militaries, and the US Defense Attache is part of a larger group of international military attendees. Due to timing, the incoming Defense Attache was able to attend in conjunction with the outgoing Attache,” he added.
The US presence comes less than a week after Poland shot down Russian drones that entered its airspace. President Donald Trump recently eased sanctions on Belarus’ state airline Belavia after President Alexander Lukashenko agreed to release 52 political prisoners, including journalists.
(With inputs from Reuters)
