Trump threatens to halt Ukraine weapons (PURL) unless Europe joins Hormuz reopening coalition

According to the Financial Times, reporting on April 1, 2026, US President Donald Trump threatened to halt the PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List) programme — through which European NATO members purchase US weapons for Ukraine — unless European allies joined a US-led 'coalition of the willing' to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The threat was confirmed by Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, and Ukrainska Pravda, all citing people briefed on the discussions. PURL context: The PURL programme has been the primary mechanism for European nations to supply US-manufactured weapons to Ukraine without the US directly providing them. Halting it would severely reduce Ukraine's weapons supply from its European backers. NATO response: Secretary-General Mark Rutte — who was separately announced to visit Washington the following week — urged key alliance members to offer Hormuz assistance. Rutte is attempting to bridge the transatlantic rift before Trump follows through. European reaction: The threatened cutoff places European governments in a direct conflict: either risk their Hormuz neutrality (and potential entanglement in the Iran war) or risk Ukraine's weapons supply. Multiple European leaders pushed back on Trump's NATO exit rhetoric earlier on D33. This is the most direct coercive linkage between the Iran war and the Ukraine war yet made by the Trump administration. Sources: Financial Times (primary), Reuters, Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda (April 1, 2026).