VVD wants stricter travel advice for Ukraine amid tensions with Russia

The VVD believes travel advice for Ukraine must be "sharper" in connection with the rising tensions between the country and Russia. VVD MP Ruben Brekelmans said this on Twitter

"Russia's military threat against Ukraine is becoming increasingly serious," said Brekelmans. He noted that the United States already tightened travel advice for its citizens. Brekelmans wants to know from Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) whether he intends to do the same.

The strictest travel advice - red - applies to eastern Ukraine, where the army is engaged in battle with pro-Russian insurgents. This means that people are strongly advised not to travel there for any reason. But for the west of the country, the advice is still orange. "Only go there if necessary," is the travel advice. "This must be sharper. We must not be naive," wrote Brekelmans.

Together with his VVD colleagues Jeroen van Wijngaarden and Daniel Koerhuis, Brekelmans asked whether steps were being taken to declare Ukrainian airspace unsafe, if necessary. "What lessons are you taking from the attack on MH17 and the relevant Dutch Safety Board report?" they ask.

The VVD parliamentarians also want to know what the government advises Dutch people now in Ukraine. They wonder, for example, if they should leave the country as a precaution.