WASHINGTON / BRUSSELS — The United States is planning to ask NATO allies to contribute more money to a key weapons-delivery programme for Ukraine, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, in a sign that US defence support for Kyiv is continuing despite lingering tension between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The request could come as soon as this month for more funding for NATO's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, known as PURL, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations; the US has already signalled to some allies that it will ask for the money, Bloomberg reported on Monday, November 2.
Source: Bloomberg via EuropeSays
Anadolu Agency, reporting the same Bloomberg account, said the precise amount Washington plans to request remains unclear. The Pentagon and the US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Bloomberg said.
Source: Anadolu Agency via BytesEU
A $2 billion hole in weapons already approved
The people familiar with the matter said there is a funding gap of about $2 billion — yaani about 200 crore US dollars — for weapons packages that have already been approved. They said the US has continued delivering weapons even before allies have provided the money to pay for them, and that the shortfall could grow if the Pentagon decides to make more deliveries. Under PURL, launched in July 2025, allied countries pay for US-made weapons identified as priorities for Ukraine, which are then sent to Kyiv; by June 2026, allies had committed more than $6 billion — yaani about 600 crore US dollars — through the programme.
Separately on Friday, the State Department approved a $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors to Ukraine, paid for entirely by allies rather than US funds. Read: US approves $2.1 billion Patriot PAC-3 sale to Ukraine
Support continues — under a cloud of Trump–Zelenskyy tension
The new funding push suggests the Pentagon has not allowed the heated rhetoric between Washington and Kyiv to interfere with the flow of American weapons, Bloomberg's sources said. Last month, the US threatened to halt PURL deliveries in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter, but the threat was not carried out, Ukrayinska Pravda reported. Zelenskyy has previously complained that Ukraine receives an average of just 12 Patriot missiles a month and is still awaiting further delivery approvals, while NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, has confirmed that US deliveries of interceptor missiles and other weapons funded by European allies are continuing.
Source: Ukrayinska Pravda via Statement
What happens next
If Washington makes the request this month, European and other allied governments will have to decide how much more they are willing to pay for US weapons for Ukraine at a moment when the funding gap is already growing. The diplomacy runs in parallel: US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to hold technical-level talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11 on security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian measures. For Kyiv, the PURL decision matters as directly as any battlefield development — the programme is currently the main channel through which American air-defence interceptors and other priority weapons reach Ukraine.
The funding question lands days before the planned Abu Dhabi meeting between US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Read: Witkoff announces Abu Dhabi talks on November 10–11