NATO foreign ministers will once again discuss the thorny issue of burden-sharing to support Ukraine’s war effort, as support to Kyiv is set to top the agenda when NATO leaders meet this summer.

The alliance’s foreign ministers are convening in Sweden on Thursday evening to prepare the NATO leaders’ summit scheduled in July in Ankara. The ministerial will start with a dinner also attended by Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.

“Ministers will discuss how to ensure support for Ukraine remains substantial, sustainable, and predictable, and based on Ukraine’s requirements,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.

Since last summer, some allies have financed $500 million packages of US-made weapons to donate to Ukraine through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative (PURL), with some repeatedly asking for a fairer sharing of the burden.

“The Netherlands, but also Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Canada, when it comes to PURL packages, are doing the heavy-lifting,” Rutte said, adding that “PURL has supplied around 70% of all missiles for Ukraine’s Patriot batteries, and 90% of the ammunition used in other air defence systems.”

With Ukraine’s budget in need of funding for years to come, some allies have asked for more transparency on what countries commit to Ukraine, one NATO diplomat said.

Diplomats are also discussing how to bolster Europe and Canada’s commitments ahead of the Ankara summit. Still, it is not clear what the formula could be, one diplomat said, and whether it could be part of the Ankara summit’s declaration.

Rutte has raised the idea of countries committing 0.25% of their GDP to Ukraine – which Estonia already does. But he was less optimistic on Wednesday.

“I don’t think this one will be proposed,” he said, adding he at least got countries to discuss a more tangible pledge to Kyiv.

Ministers will also discuss under what format Ukraine will participate in the Ankara summit. Kyiv has announced it will have a delegation there but it is unclear whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend.

One diplomat said they expected a format similar to last year in The Hague, where the Ukrainian president met with leaders for an informal dinner and held bilateral talks.

But ministers are also expected to address the US announcements of troops’ redeployments when Secretary of State Marco Rubio touches down in Sweden on Friday. Rubio is set to share his plans to reduce the number of troops the US can have ready for NATO.

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