NATO foreign ministers meet at alliance headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 3, 2025. Secretary-General Mark Rutte credited allies for pledging more support for Ukraine through a program that involves European purchases of American weaponry for delivery to Ukrainian forces. (NATO)
One way to make Russia pay for acts of sabotage in Europe is to intensify military support for Ukraine, NATO’s top official said Wednesday following a meeting of top alliance diplomats.
Secretary-General Mark Rutte referred specifically to an initiative that involves allied purchases of American weapons for onward delivery to Ukraine.
Known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirement List, or PURL, the endeavor should be seen as a tool for sending a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rutte said.
“We will not blow up railway lines in Russia,” he said, an allusion to the recent explosion on a Polish train route used by allies for delivering weapons to Ukraine. “But we will make sure you feel it if you do stuff like this.”
While Russia hasn’t been officially blamed for the explosion, Polish officials suspect Kremlin involvement.
Such incidents have become a source of heightened concern in Europe, where political and military leaders say Russia is waging an extensive sabotage campaign that targets Western infrastructure.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels because of ongoing negotiations that seek to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end after almost four years.
NATO itself isn’t part of the talks, but Rutte said U.S. officials are keeping the alliance abreast of developments.
In Brussels, the foreign ministers focused their talks on how to bolster support for Ukraine. Rutte praised alliance members for pledging more support through the PURL program.
About two-thirds of the 32-member bloc have committed to sending arms through the initiative, which was initially launched in July as a way to get more American-made Patriot air defense systems into Ukraine.
So far, more than $4 billion has been pledged by allies, Rutte said. That’s up from about $2 billion in October. NATO is on track to hit the $5 billion mark this year, Rutte said.
Still, there are concerns that too much of the burden for supporting Ukraine is being carried by NATO countries in central and northern Europe.
“We need burden-sharing here,” Rutte said without naming which countries are holding back support.
The impetus for greater European participation in PURL is likely to grow. Australia and New Zealand, neither of which is a NATO member, are expected to begin contributing to the program, Politico reported.
“The longer this continues, the clearer you can see who’s punching above their weight and who’s punching below their weight,” the news outlet quoted a senior NATO diplomat as saying.
