WASHINGTON, November 3 (HS/RIA Novosti) - The United States intends to demand that NATO allies finance a shortfall of approximately $2 billion that has emerged as a result of arms supply approvals for Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

The US request for the money under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative may be made as soon as this month, the report said on Monday.

The sum may increase if the Pentagon decides to give Kiev more weapons, the report added.

On October 30, the US State Department approved the possible sale of 500 missiles for Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine for $2.1 billion. The costs are to be covered by contributions from Canada, Germany, and Norway under the JUMPSTART initiative, as well as by national funds allocated through an EU credit line, with no US budgetary funds involved.

As reported by CNN, the announced supply would begin no earlier than 2030 due to production timelines.

Russia has said that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the settlement, directly involve NATO countries in the conflict, and constitute playing with fire. The Kremlin has stated that the West's armament of Ukraine is counterproductive to negotiations and will have a negative effect.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar