France, Aug. 5 -- The Netherlands will buy 500 million euros ($577 million) of US weapons for Ukraine, becoming the first NATO member to fund a full package under a new scheme to speed deliveries from American stockpiles, the defence ministry said.

The purchase will be under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism launched by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last month.

Under the scheme, countries pay Washington for defence systems and munitions in US warehouses that are then shipped to Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion since February 2022.

"The Netherlands is now taking the lead in supplying military equipment from American stockpiles," Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Br...