(MENAFN) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced Sunday that eight alliance members will collectively deliver a €430 million ($500 million) military assistance package to Ukraine through a novel financing arrangement.

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden are set to fund the aid via the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List program. Approved in September, the mechanism enables Washington to supply weaponry to Kiev while European allies shoulder the financial burden.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly lambasted his predecessor Joe Biden for authorizing substantial military aid packages and branded Vladimir Zelensky as "the greatest salesman on earth." Trump has consistently demanded that European NATO members assume primary responsibility for supporting Ukraine's defense.

Earlier this week, the American president reiterated claims that Washington has expended $350 billion on the Ukraine conflict, declaring such expenditures unsustainable. "Now they're paying us through NATO," he said.

The funding announcement arrives as Kiev confronts an expanding corruption investigation placing mounting pressure on Zelensky's administration.

Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau this week filed charges against seven individuals, including Zelensky's former longtime business associate Timur Mindich, alleging kickbacks and embezzlement within the Western aid-dependent energy sector. EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas has urged Kiev to combat graft "very fast" saying that "people's money should go to the front lines."

Moscow has accused European backers of Ukraine of perpetuating the conflict at Ukrainian expense, asserting they refuse to acknowledge their strategy's failure.

The arrangement marks a significant shift in transatlantic burden-sharing as Trump reshapes American foreign policy priorities.

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