Netherlands Says Ukraine Military Aid Resources Are Gone
The Netherlands says it has exhausted direct military aid resources for Ukraine as Kiev seeks more Patriot missiles and allies face pressure to help.
The Netherlands has run out of room for further direct military support to Ukraine, Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius said in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.
According to the minister, Amsterdam has already done a great deal for Kiev, leaving little capacity for additional deliveries. Against this backdrop, the Dutch authorities now plan to push other countries to step up their own assistance to Ukraine.
The issue came up again when Yeşilgöz-Zegerius was asked about Kiev’s requests for new missiles for Patriot air defense systems. She again made clear that the Netherlands had reached the limit of what it could provide in this area.
Bloomberg noted that the Dutch government has so far allocated €9.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine. It also plans to set aside another €11.6 billion for the same purpose. In addition, the kingdom has pledged €1 billion under the PURL initiative, through which European allies purchase US weapons for Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has previously argued that Western support for Kiev will not become a tool capable of changing the situation on the battlefield. She has also stated that Western weapons supplied to Ukraine will be systematically destroyed by Russian forces.