Several NATO countries refuse to buy US weapons for Ukraine.
By derimot*no -Knut Lindtner/Dave DeCamp - July 20, 2025
Trump's plan is facing strong opposition. The plan, which is a direct attempt to finance the US war industry using European government budgets, is unlikely to work. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is simple: There is no money. Why would European countries use their own budgets to finance the US arms industry?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has found his place – in Donald Trump’s lap. It took some getting used to, but now he is safely seated with “Daddy Donald”. The other European poodles – including the Norwegian leaders – have been through the same training and now know very well who is boss. They are experienced political weather vanes: They always turn with the political wind – that is the whole point of them. But then you can’t expect them to have any political will of their own.
The governments of Italy and France are now caught between three considerations: the demands of their own arms industry, the needs of their own populations, and the pressure from the US defense industry. Not all of them can be satisfied at the same time. That is why the Trump/Rutte plan collapses before it is even clearly formulated.
As Johan Herman Wessel put it in his play Love Without Stockings from 1772: "Where there is nothing, even the emperor has lost his rights."
France and Italy will not participate in NATO plan to buy US weapons for Ukraine
According to Reuters, some NATO allies were taken aback by the announcement from Trump and Rutte.
By Dave DeCamp
France and Italy have refused to participate in a plan to buy American weapons and send them to Ukraine - an initiative announced by President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday.
France clarified that it still aims to support Ukraine militarily, but wants to prioritize the purchase of European weapons systems, while also considering budgetary constraints. Italy has expressed a similar position, citing, among other things, the Italian-made SAMP/T air defense system, which has already been delivered to Ukraine.
According to Reuters, several NATO countries were taken aback by the announcement from Trump and Rutte. Rutte claimed that six countries – Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada – were already willing to participate in the scheme. However, representatives from two of those countries stated that this was the first time they had heard of the proposal.
“It is my clear understanding that no one has been briefed in advance on the exact details,” a European ambassador told Reuters. “I also suspect that within the administration, people are only now beginning to figure out what it actually means in practice.”
Trump said the plan would see “billions of dollars” in US military equipment soon on its way to Ukraine, and reports indicate that $10 billion worth of arms sales are expected in the first round. However, it is unclear how many of these sales will actually go through.
NATO allies are also struggling to get Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, despite Trump’s promise that such systems would be sent “within days.” The US stockpile of Patriot missiles has been sharply reduced as a result of US support for Ukraine and the ongoing wars in the Middle East.
France-and-italy-wont-participate-in-nato-plan-to-buy-us-weapons-for-ukraine
Cover image is AI-generated
The text represents the author's opinion, not necessarily that of www.derimot.no.
By Dave DeCamp
