NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on February 3 for a visit, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and addressed the parliament.
Zelenskyy reported this on Telegram, according to Espreso.
Rutte’s address to parliament
The NATO Secretary General spoke in the Verkhovna Rada. He stated that through NATO’s PURL mechanism, Ukraine has received 90% of the missiles for air defense systems.
“Through the PURL mechanism, millions of euros are coming from allies and partners. Since last summer, we have provided 75% of all missiles that have been delivered to Ukraine and are going to the front, and 90% of those that protect the airspace. We understand that more is needed quickly. We are aware of this and are constantly working to ensure these supplies come both through the PURL mechanism and through other means,” Rutte said.
He assured that the Alliance would continue supporting Ukraine and exerting pressure on Russia.
“As soon as a peace agreement is reached, armed forces, aircraft in the air, and support at sea will immediately appear,” Rutte said, adding that NATO is ready to act “for years ahead.”
Meeting with Zelenskyy
The president noted that he discussed, among other things, the supply of missiles for air defense systems with the Alliance’s Secretary General.
“Today there was a record Russian strike involving the use of ballistic weapons. There were 28 cruise missiles, as well as another 43 missiles of various types that approach targets on a ballistic trajectory and can only be intercepted by Patriot systems. This means missiles for these systems are needed and deliveries must be prompt. We spoke with Mark about this today in particular, and I hope we will be able to implement everything we agreed on,” Zelenskyy said.
Rutte and the president also jointly honored the memory of Ukrainian heroes at the National Memorial of Remembrance on Independence Square.
“Together with Mark Rutte, today we honored the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders. Eternal honor to our warriors. Eternal gratitude for their feat and for defending the country. It is our duty to preserve the memory of our fallen heroes,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Earlier, Mark Rutte urged EU states to prioritize Ukraine’s needs by using funds from a €90 billion loan for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, referring in particular to the purchase of weapons from the United States.
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General noted that better burden-sharing within the Alliance is needed, iPress.ua reports.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is confident that allies will find $15 billion to finance the PURL program in 2026.
He said this during a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, broadcast by Suspilne.
“I am absolutely confident that the money will be found, because we all know this is a key issue,” Rutte said.
He noted that two-thirds of the allies are participating in the PURL program, but the distribution of funding “remains in question, as some countries are doing nothing.”
“We need better burden-sharing within NATO. That is exactly what we are working on,” Rutte emphasized.
PURL is a joint US–NATO program launched in 2025 to accelerate the delivery of critically important US-made weapons and equipment to Ukraine. As of December last year, the program included 21 countries.
