NATO countries face a funding shortfall of about €7 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year, according to three alliance diplomats cited in reporting published on Monday, November 9. The gap puts the allies' commitment to provide €70 billion in 2026 at risk; they have pledged at least the same level again for 2027.

Source: Politico via Statement

The annual target is made up of bilateral contributions from member states plus €30 billion coming from the European Union's €90 billion loan to Ukraine. NATO maintains that its members are working to fulfil the commitment, but it remains unclear where exactly the shortfall has arisen.

Why the gap has opened

Since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, the United States has stopped almost all new aid, leaving European governments to shoulder most of the burden. European capitals face pressure on public finances, and diplomats describe growing fatigue among some of the largest donors.

Inside the overall shortfall sits a $1.9 billion funding gap for weapons deliveries under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), the scheme through which European allies buy American weapons for Kyiv, including air-defence interceptors. Diplomats doubt whether PURL will reach NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's $15 billion target this year.

Alyona Getmanchuk, Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, has urged allies to turn their pledges into actual equipment deliveries and transfers of funds. Rutte has repeatedly stressed the need for more air-defence support as Russia steps up aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of winter.

The PURL gap has been building for weeks — Washington signalled earlier this month that it would ask allies to put more money into the scheme. Read the earlier PURL funding-gap report

What happens next

Allies will discuss additional funding and weapons deliveries at a meeting in Brussels on November 17. If the €7 billion gap is not closed, diplomats warn it could hamper purchases of the equipment Ukraine needs to defend against Russian missiles and drones this winter — even as US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11 to discuss a settlement.