NATO Allies Must Buy More US Weapons for Ukraine: Hegseth

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. expects NATO allies to purchase and donate “even more” American weapons for Ukraine under a key arms initiative, as defense ministers from the alliance gathered at its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, for a meeting on Wednesday.

Speaking alongside NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte as they entered the meeting, Hegseth said the purchases would be made under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to provide Ukraine with greater “firepower”.

“You get peace when you are strong, not when you use strong words or wag your finger. You get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect. And I believe that’s what NATO is doing. I believe that’s what the PURL initiative is,” Hegseth said.

“So our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion.”

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.