President Volodymyr Zelensky held a crucial meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv, emphasizing gratitude for the Alliance's support, particularly for the PURL program that enables Ukraine to purchase military equipment from the USA.

This was reported by a correspondent from Ukrinform.

«Today, we discussed what joint steps we can take to enhance security for Ukraine and Europe and bring us closer to peace,» Zelensky stated.

He specifically highlighted the importance of the PURL program, which facilitates weapon purchases from the USA.

«The PURL program is already operational, and I appreciate you, Mark, for this initiative. It allows us to acquire American weapons using funds from our partners. Currently, we have $1.5 billion from our European allies. New participants are preparing to join. Thank you to everyone,» the President emphasized.

According to him, this enables Ukraine to acquire critical systems such as air defense. «This includes the Patriot systems, missiles for them, Himars, and other weaponry,» Zelensky noted.

He added that it is essential to increase the funding for this program each month. «On average, we are looking at around a billion dollars per month. We discussed with Mark the possibility of increasing that to one and a half billion. We need to work on this and involve more countries in the program,» the head of state remarked.

As reported, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is currently visiting Ukraine.