Slovenia Pledges Additional $50M to Ukraine’s PURL Initiative

Slovenia has announced it will contribute an additional $50 million to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to support deliveries of US-made weapons to Ukraine.

The decision was announced by the Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tone Kajzer on Thursday July 9, following the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7-8.  According to Kajzer, Slovenia will also co-finance the construction of three civil protection shelters. 

“At the NATO–Ukraine Council meeting, I reaffirmed Slovenia’s continued support for Ukraine,” Kajzer said, adding that “Ukraine is fighting for its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”

Slovenia reaffirms long-term commitment

“The answer to increasingly complex geopolitical challenges cannot be more war,” Kajzer said on the sidelines of the summit. 

“We need dialogue, we must listen to all sides, and seek common solutions based on the principles of the UN Charter,” he continued, adding that Slovenia’s task is to stand by Ukraine’s side and “ensure predictable, long-term, and sustainable support.”

 Ukraine’s response

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the announcement on X, thanking Slovenia for what he called its steadfast support and solidarity with Ukraine.

“We highly appreciate Slovenia’s decision to contribute an additional $50 million to the PURL initiative and to co-finance the construction of three civil protection shelters,” Sybiha said, adding that “such tangible assistance strengthens Ukraine’s resilience and demonstrates a long-term commitment to supporting our people.”

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Zelensky: PURL, SAFE and EU path discussed

Earlier on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon in Ukraine.

“We discussed the PURL initiative and Slovenia’s accession to the program, the SAFE mechanism, diplomatic efforts to achieve real peace, work on returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, and the importance of opening negotiation clusters for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union,” Zelensky said.

The EU could open the next accession negotiations cluster for Ukraine and Moldova on July 14, during intergovernmental conferences taking place in Brussels on the sidelines of the EU General Affairs Council. 

If approved by all member states unanimously, Cluster 6 would become the second accession negotiations cluster opened for Ukraine since the EU formally opened the first cluster, “Fundamentals,” on June 15. 

Hungary has unblocked a part of its previous objection to Cluster 6, clearing the way for the EU to move forward with talks for both Ukraine and Moldova.Despite the partial shift, Hungary continues to block the remaining four clusters. 

Part of a larger NATO package

The announcement follows commitments made by NATO leaders at the alliance’s summit, where member states unveiled a €70 billion ($76 billion) in military assistance package for Ukraine, according to the Ankara Summit Declaration.

NATO leaders have also reaffirmed their commitment to collective defense under Article 5, calling unity and collective strength “the foundation of peace, security, and prosperity” for the alliance’s citizens, with authorities increasingly concerned that Russia could expand the war beyond Ukraine, as threats toward NATO members escalate.

In its annual strategy, the Dutch defence ministry said Europe is operating in a “grey zone” between war and peace, adding that Russia could be capable of launching a limited military operation against a NATO country within a year of the Ukraine war ending.