Portugal will contribute €50 million to a joint initiative to purchase weapons from the United States for delivery to Ukraine, Defence Minister Nuno Melo announced on Wednesday following a ministerial meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The minister added that a further €10 million will be invested in the UK-led drone initiative, which, despite being a British programme, “has consistently involved the production of Portuguese-made drones, and is therefore also an investment in our national defence industry.”
Melo clarified that the funds are part of the €221 million Portugal had already committed to supporting Ukraine this year, meaning that no additional funding will be allocated in 2025.
When asked whether NATO’s European member states should be the ones purchasing weapons from the US rather than Washington itself, the minister argued that Ukraine’s urgent military needs cannot always be met by European manufacturers. “The priority is that Ukraine receives the equipment it needs to win the war,” he said.
Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that 16 member states had already joined the US arms procurement initiative.
Portugal’s overall support for Ukraine has, until now, lagged behind that of most of Kyiv’s allies. According to Germany’s Kiel Institute, which tracks government transfers of military, financial and humanitarian aid, Portugal ranked 32nd out of 41 donor countries, with a total of around €75 million as of late February 2024. When adjusted for GDP, Portugal placed 33rd, contributing just 0.032% of its economic output.
That figure is expected to rise significantly following the signing of a ten-year bilateral cooperation agreement between Portugal and Ukraine during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Lisbon this week. The deal will formalise commitments in humanitarian, financial, military, and political support, including backing for Ukraine’s EU accession process, according to Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel.
Earlier commitments included €100 million towards the Czech-led joint ammunition procurement programme, announced in March 2024 by the previous government, and the delivery of armoured vehicles, Leopard 2A6 tanks, artillery ammunition, communications equipment, and other military supplies.
Portugal has also pledged to rebuild Lyceum No. 25 in Zhytomyr, destroyed in a Russian airstrike, and to train Ukrainian Air Force personnel in F-16 maintenance and air traffic control operations on Portuguese soil.
Despite its relatively modest contributions so far, Portugal continues to affirm its unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and its integration into the EU and NATO, while also hosting one of the largest Ukrainian diaspora communities in Western Europe, now numbering over 110,000 residents, including more than 59,000 refugees who arrived after the Russian invasion.
