September 17, 2025

Information Cutoff: 1:30 pm ET

Jessica Sobieski, Jennie Olmsted, Christina Harward, Justin Young, Daria Novikov, Ian Matthews and George Barros

The Trump administration reportedly approved its first European-financed foreign military sales to Ukraine through the Prioritized Ukrainian Requirements List (PURL) initiative. Reuters reported on September 16 that two familiar sources stated that the Trump administration approved its first weapons package to Ukraine through the PURL initiative, which allows NATO members and partners to finance the supply of American weapons and technology to Ukraine. The sources told Reuters that Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby approved as many as two shipments worth $500 million each that include air defense systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on September 17 that the US package will include Patriot interceptor missiles and HIMARS rockets.

Senior Russian officials continue to publicly signal the Kremlin’s unwillingness to engage in negotiations that result in anything less than full Ukrainian capitulation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on September 17 that territorial exchanges will not “stop” Russia’s war in Ukraine, in contradiction to US President Donald Trump’s recent statements that peace between Russia and Ukraine will require “land swaps.” Lavrov also asserted that attempts to “entice” Russian President Vladimir Putin with the restoration of US-Russian trade will also not end Russia’s war. Lavrov reiterated longstanding Kremlin demands that any future peace settlement eliminate the “root causes” of the war, which Kremlin officials have repeatedly defined as Ukraine’s alleged discrimination against Russian-speakers in Ukraine and NATO expansion, among other demands of both Ukraine and NATO. The Kremlin has often used this “root causes” phrase to call for the replacement of the current Ukrainian government with a Russian puppet government, Ukraine’s commitment to neutrality, and the revocation of NATO’s Open Door Policy. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on September 17 that Russia remains open to the negotiation process and that Russia’s “preferred solution” is a political and diplomatic settlement. ISW continues to assess that Russia is uninterested in good-faith negotiations that will require Russian concessions and is willing to protract the war in order to achieve its original, maximalist war demands on the battlefield.

The Kremlin is using the threat of aggression to try to prevent European states from committing troops to postwar Ukraine as part of Western security guarantees. Lavrov claimed that Russia would view any European forces deployed to postwar Ukraine as “legitimate military targets.” Lavrov’s statements follow similar statements from other high-ranking Kremlin officials in recent weeks, rejecting post-war Western security guarantees for Ukraine.

• The Trump administration reportedly approved its first European-financed foreign military sales to Ukraine through the Prioritized Ukrainian Requirements List (PURL) initiative.

• Senior Russian officials continue to publicly signal the Kremlin’s unwillingness to engage in negotiations that result in anything less than full Ukrainian capitulation.

• The Kremlin is using the threat of aggression to try to prevent European states from committing troops to postwar Ukraine as part of Western security guarantees.

• Senior Kremlin officials, likely with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval, pushed Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak out of his senior Kremlin position following years of disagreement with Putin’s policies about the war in Ukraine.

• Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) identified the base and commander of Russia’s Rubikon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies.

• Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) command and staff military exercises are occurring in Kyrgyzstan from September 17 to 20.

• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area. Russian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.

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