Colby stressed that Europe must assume primary responsibility for the continent's defense as soon as possible. He explained that the United States is now spending significant resources on other global challenges, in particular the operation against Iran and ensuring security in the Strait of Hormuz, and cannot cover most of the costs of European security.
“Ukraine's defense was largely supported by the reduction of limited US arsenals, supplemented by European contributions. This was the response of 'NATO 2.0' to the reality of 'NATO 3.0,'” Colby noted, emphasizing the primary deterrence role that NATO must fulfill as a powerful military alliance.
He called the main requirements on the way to this an increase in defense spending by NATO member countries and an increase in industrial capacity. In his opinion, this will strengthen the Alliance and make it more sustainable.
Colby called on European countries to actively use the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to support Ukraine, but to build their own capacity so as not to depend on the United States.
Context
NATO announced the launch of PURL on August 4, 2025. As part of this initiative, Ukraine will receive American weapons funded by European allies and Canada. As the Alliance explained, the cost of each aid package is about $500 million.
There is no clear amount of funds that countries have already allocated for the purchase of weapons within the PURL in open sources. However, in September, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky reported that six countries had already allocated more than $2 billion through the initiative. Later, in December, the head of state said that in 2026 he was counting on arms packages under this program worth $15–16 billion.
Following the meeting of the contact group on Ukrainian defense issues in the Ramstein format on April 15, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov said that the partners agreed to allocate $4 billion to Ukraine to strengthen air defense and more than $1.5 billion for UAVs.
On the same day, Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte promised $60 billion in military support to Ukraine from NATO in 2026.
