NATO will allow Ukraine to buy weapons, ammunition and military equipment through its centralised procurement agency, the Financial Times reported on Thursday — a change that could let Kyiv obtain defence supplies faster and more cheaply, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters
The arrangement runs through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), the alliance's central body for buying and supporting equipment. "It provides Ukraine with the ability to have a more structured framework to leverage a broad range of capabilities that we offer: procurement expertise, support services and access to established industrial base," the NSPA's director of support to operations, Jacqueline Borsboom, told the FT.
Building on an April opening
The deal builds on NATO's decision in April to let Ukrainian defence companies compete in NSPA tenders. Last week the agency held an industry event in Kyiv attended by about 150 Ukrainian companies, explaining how manufacturers can register as eligible suppliers and bid for contracts, according to the FT reporting.
Source: Financial Times via TradersUnion
The range covered by the framework runs from basics such as uniforms to more strategic defence purchases, giving Kyiv one structured channel instead of relying only on separate bilateral deals with individual allies.
Arrives as US-Ukraine ties strain
The move comes amid worsening US-Ukraine relations since US President Donald Trump announced a diesel export deal with Russia this month to lower US fuel prices, Reuters noted. Ukraine has complained of disruption to some intelligence sharing and to its use of the Starshield satellite system, though President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a meeting in Oslo on Tuesday had agreed to resolve those issues.
For Kyiv, a direct line into NATO's own buying machine means orders can be pooled with allies, prices compared across an established industrial base, and deliveries coordinated centrally — practical advantages as the war with Russia grinds on and every week of delay in supplies is felt at the front.