Poland is temporarily suspending its financial contributions to the PURL program, through which European countries pay for U.S. weapons intended for Ukraine. Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the decision at a press conference broadcast by TVP Info.
“I informed the NATO secretary general that, for now, we will not be making contributions to the PURL program – European funds for U.S. weapons for Ukraine,” Tusk said.
The Polish prime minister explained the change by citing the high budget deficit and spending on the country’s own defense. Poland is among the NATO countries that have significantly increased their military spending since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
Tusk described the decision as temporary but did not specify a timeframe for resuming the payments. No specific amount that Poland had planned to contribute to the program during the next period was announced either.
PURL allows allies to finance the purchase of U.S. weapons and ammunition, which are then provided to Ukraine. The deliveries include air defense systems and missiles. More than half of NATO member states have declared their participation in the initiative, the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said earlier.
Warsaw’s decision comes amid calls for Washington to increase European funding for PURL. According to information cited by the Straits Times, there is a shortfall of about $2 billion for weapons packages that have already been approved, while the U.S. side continues to make deliveries before receiving full payment.
Sources: tvp.info, straitstimes.com, pap.pl