NATO chief believes Ukraine to not end up without US-made weapons despite Iran war

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said Ukraine will continue to receive US weapons paid for by its partners despite the impact of the war in the Middle East.

Rutte was asked whether he has received clear assurances from the US that Washington will continue prioritising supplies for Ukraine rather than diverting some types of weapons to its own stockpiles.

"Well, the good news is that the flow continues, and that there is a broad understanding on both sides of the ocean that we do have to do 'and/and'. That is, make sure that we refill all our stockpiles, because this is not only a US problem, but also a European problem. We have to ramp up defence industrial production. But at the same time, we have to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight. So, there is a broad agreement on that on both sides of the Atlantic," Rutte said at a press conference on 15 April after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.

Rutte also said he is optimistic that Ukraine's partners will continue to find the necessary funding to finance purchases of US weapons through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the continuing war in the Middle East has led to a major shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defence systems protecting Ukraine's skies.