Defence Online

NATO Secretary General Calls for Sustained Member Commitment to Ukraine Support

Air September 9, 2026

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte pressed allies to sustain military support for Ukraine at a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting co-chaired by the UK and Germany, as funding through NATO’s PURL mechanism passed $10 billion over the past year.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on allies to keep stepping up support for Ukraine at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on 8 September 2026, co-chaired by the United Kingdom and Germany. Rutte used the meeting to welcome recent pledges of military assistance aimed at helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian attacks, including air strikes.

Rutte told the meeting that Allies have allocated more than $10 billion over the past year to PURL and US Foreign Military Sales for Ukraine, a figure that includes $3.5 billion from the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan. He described the EU contribution as “a tangible sign of EU-NATO cooperation in support of Ukraine, and also another example of Europe stepping up.”

The Secretary General pressed allies to act with what he called “utmost urgency,” warning that delays in support “cost human lives.” He singled out PURL — NATO’s initiative supplying US military hardware funded by NATO Allies and partners — as central to keeping equipment flowing to Ukraine’s front line.

Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, said: “This is uninterrupted, and absolutely essential in helping Ukraine to defend its cities and to hold the front line.”

NATO’s own account of the meeting does not detail specific new pledges made on the day, nor does it set out the UK’s individual contribution beyond its role, alongside Germany, in chairing the Contact Group.

Post written by: Alastair Roberts