Trump’s NATO Fund Plan to Arm Ukraine Gains Traction: Allies to Spend Billions on U.S. Weapons
Trump shifts Ukraine aid strategy: NATO allies to fund $10B in US-made arms via new account. First step in plan to make Europe pay, with US as arms supplier. Germany sending Patriots as part of deal.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Western allies of Ukraine are preparing to establish a new NATO-managed fund that will enable member states to purchase billions of dollars’ worth of American-made weapons for Kyiv—marking the first concrete step in President Donald Trump’s plan to have NATO partners directly finance arms for Ukraine’s defense against Russia, according to three Western officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.
The proposed NATO holding account represents a major policy pivot from the Biden administration, which relied on donating weapons from U.S. stockpiles. Instead, under Trump’s strategy, NATO allies will pay for new weapons manufactured in the U.S., fulfilling Trump’s declared goal of sharing the financial burden of arming Ukraine.
Speaking alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office last month, Trump described the arrangement bluntly:
“We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons and they’re going to be paying for them. We’re not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they’re going to be paying for it.”
According to Wall Street Journal, the plan envisions NATO allies voluntarily contributing to the new account, which will fund American-made or supplied weapons after Ukraine’s battlefield needs are balanced against U.S. military requirements. Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, will oversee vetting of Ukraine’s requests.
One official said allies aim to spend around $10 billion initially, with most orders expected to come directly from U.S. defense industry production lines—delivering a substantial boost to American arms manufacturers.
Shift from Donations to Purchases
Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. had used presidential drawdown authority to send weapons directly from its reserves. Trump retains $3.85 billion in unspent drawdown authority from the Biden administration, but his plan is focused on allies purchasing new weapons rather than relying on American donations.
Republican leaders in the Senate are also proposing legislation allowing the Pentagon to be reimbursed by European nations for arms provided to Ukraine, bolstering Trump’s strategy to reduce the burden on Washington’s own stockpiles.
Deliveries of American weapons authorized under Biden—including critical Patriot air-defense munitions—resumed recently after being paused in June for a Pentagon review of U.S. stockpile levels.
In a related move to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses, the U.S. and Germany reached an agreement in which Berlin will send additional Patriot air-defense systems to Kyiv. Germany announced on Friday that the first two Patriots are set to arrive in Ukraine within days. In return, Germany will receive the newest Patriots off the U.S. production line at an “accelerated pace,” according to a statement from the German government.
To facilitate this deal, the Pentagon shifted Germany ahead of Switzerland in the Patriot delivery queue, the Wall Street Journal reported. A senior U.S. official confirmed that future Patriot allocations will be reshuffled as more countries agree to transfer their systems to Ukraine.
Despite the aggressive push for arms, a senior NATO military official emphasized the overarching objective remains bringing Russia to the negotiating table to end the conflict, not prolonging the war indefinitely.
However, Trump’s approach, shifting from donations to purchases, signals a dramatic evolution in Western strategy—one that places NATO’s collective wallet behind Ukraine’s defense while continuing to escalate the military and economic pressure on Moscow.
