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.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Breckelmans made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Oct. 6, and visited Kharkiv.
"We are also trying to find other elements that are needed to complete the system," Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.
A plan from the Netherlands to provide Ukraine with a full Patriot system has fallen through after an unnamed ally working with the Netherlands backed out, local media reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders on the sidelines of the Cernobbio Forum in Italy on Sept. 7.
As the allies gathered at the Ramstein Air Base for the 24th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in person to lobby for faster deliveries of air defenses and long-range weapons. Despite new aid pledges, the result has been rather lackluster. Kyiv has been
New Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof arrived in Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Sept. 2 to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and announce a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than 200 million euros ($221 million).
"Ukraine desperately needs our help in its fight against the Russian aggressor. Our support for Ukraine continues to keep Russia at bay," Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.
While the Ukraine Compact is a useful overarching framework, many countries had already signed bilateral security agreements, said former Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
Kyiv is expected to receive mobile radars later this year, the Dutch Defense Ministry said.
The first batch of F-16 fighter jets Ukraine received encompassed six planes provided by the Netherlands, The Times reported on July 31, citing an undisclosed source.
Fourteen Leopard 2A4 tanks previously purchased and pledged to Ukraine by the Netherlands and Denmark will be delivered this summer, the Dutch Defense Ministry announced on July 25.
Two Russian nationals, Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, were found guilty of shooting down MH17 at a Hague District Court in November 2022.
The recent career of the outgoing Dutch Ambassador, Jennes de Mol, has been a good reflection of his country's relations with Ukraine. A career diplomat, De Mol was the Dutch Consul General in Saint Petersburg in 2014, when he came to Kyiv to assist the Dutch embassy in the aftermath
In the Netherlands, construction equipment supplier Dieseko Group B.V. was fined nearly 1.8 million euros ($1.9 million) for its involvement in the illegal construction of the Crimean bridge, violating international trade sanctions.
The Netherlands will allocate 20 million euros (nearly $22 million) to purchase first-person view (FPV) drones for Ukraine within the drone coalition, the Dutch Defense Ministry announced on July 10.
Foreign partners have so far pledged to invest around $675 million in the Ukrainian defense industry to arm Kyiv's forces, Ukrainska Pravda reported on July 11, citing data from the Strategic Industries Ministry.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's aggression knows no bounds, so our support must continue at full speed," Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.
The first F-16 fighter jets are on their way from the Netherlands and Denmark to Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on July 10 during the NATO summit in Washington.
The Netherlands's Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp and Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans met with President Volodymyr Zelensky during their first diplomatic visit to Ukraine, announcing additional aid for Ukraine human rights investigations and missing persons forensics on July 7.
"The Netherlands remains committed to supporting Ukraine as much as we can, for as long as needed. We and our allies stand united in our resolve to return peace and security to Ukraine," Ruben Brekelmans wrote on X.
The Dutch defense minister did not disclose the exact date or other delivery details, citing "operational security" concerns.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will take over the position from current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when his ten-year term ends in October.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced that the Netherlands will supply another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine together with another country, Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANP) reported on June 21.
The Dutch government ruled in May to end exemptions that allowed Russian fishing companies to offload their products in the Netherlands, which has typically been one of Europe's largest importers of Russian seafood.
Romania was the last of the 32 NATO allies to support Rutte's candidacy, after Hungary and Slovakia endorsed Rutte on June 18.
Editor's note: This article has been updated in light of Mark Rutte becoming NATO secretary general on Oct. 1. "There was a joke I heard the other day," Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told the audience of a Politico event in November 2023, as the mandate of NATO Secretary General
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg endorsed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as his successor for the first time on June 18, describing him as a "very strong candidate."
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte promised Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban the possibility to opt out of NATO activities in support of Ukraine if made the alliance's secretary-general, the Financial Times reported on June 18, citing its undisclosed sources.
The Dutch Defense Ministry announced it will contribute to the IFU's initiative, but it has not revealed the number of shells to be delivered due to security concerns.
The Netherlands will deliver its first F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine already this summer, shortly after Denmark, outgoing Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in an interview with European Pravda published on June 12.
The Dutch government will provide 60 million euros ($64.4 million) to bolster Ukraine's aerial and naval drone purchasing and production, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced on June 11.
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