Ukraine to gain access to NATO weapons procurement agency - FT
Ukraine will be allowed to purchase weapons, ammunition and military equipment through NATO's centralized procurement agency, potentially making defense supplies faster and cheaper to obtain, the Financial Times reported on October 22.
The arrangement will give Ukraine access to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), which manages procurement contracts, logistics and support services for NATO members and partners.
"It provides Ukraine with the ability to have a more structured framework to leverage a broad range of capabilities that we offer: procurement expertise, support services and access to established industrial base," Jacqueline Borsboom, the agency's director of support to operations, told the FT.
The mechanism could help Ukraine streamline purchases and draw on NATO's established defense industry supply networks.
The report comes amid tensions between Kyiv and Washington over US policy toward Russia and disruptions affecting some forms of American support.
Ukraine has raised concerns about intelligence sharing and access to the Starshield satellite system, although President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said talks in Oslo on October 20 had produced an agreement to resolve those issues.
Neither the start date for the new procurement arrangement nor details of any initial Ukrainian purchases were specified in the reports.
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