During an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Oct. 6, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced that the Netherlands will invest 400 million euros ($440 million) in a joint advanced drone development initiative with Ukraine.
Brekelmans also officially confirmed for the first time that the first Dutch F-16s are already in Ukraine, promising that the rest of the 24 promised jets will be delivered in the coming months.
As Ukraine faces continued pressure from Russian forces in the east and increased attacks on critical infrastructure ahead of winter, this support comes at a crucial time, more than two and a half years into the war.
The initiative will focus on a range of drones, including surveillance, defensive, and offensive types. "We will focus on different types of drones, so both surveillance drones, more defensive drones, but also the attack drones, because we see that Ukraine needs those more offensive drones also to target military facilities," Brekelmans explained, according to Reuters.
About half of the investment will remain in the Netherlands, with the remainder distributed between Ukraine and other countries. If the project proves successful, additional funds could be allocated to scale up production.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Netherlands has committed 10 billion euros ($11.1 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, with four billion already spent.
Kateryna Denisova
