Dutch to provide extra €1 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year

The Netherlands will allocate an extra one billion euros this year for military aid to Ukraine. The caretaker Cabinet announced the decision on Friday during a conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Rutte wrote on social media.

By the end of December, the Netherlands will have contributed three billion euros in military support to Ukraine this year alone. That will be matched with another three billion euros for military aid in Ukraine next year, the prime minister said.

As expected, 400 million euros will also be released to support Ukraine's economy and infrastructure. The country has been under heavy fire from Russia in recent weeks. The largest power plant near Kyiv was destroyed on Thursday.

"Ukraine is being ravaged daily by Russian aggression. This week, large-scale attacks took place on power plants. Civilians were also killed in attacks on the city of Kharkiv. Ukraine needs more so it can protect itself," Rutte said.

Furthermore, the Cabinet remains committed to arranging additional air defense and ammunition for the Ukrainians. This is being assessed and handled in close cooperation with Denmark, m the Czech Republic, and others, the prime minister said.

Rutte held discussions about this with the heads of government from both countries on Wednesday. The Dutch national government in The Hague has been working with their counterparts in both Prague and Copenhagen for some time to help Ukraine.

The Netherlands will supply F-16 fighter aircrafts with the Danes. They will also train Ukrainian pilots to fly these fighter jets. The Netherlands recently spent a quarter of a billion euros on an initiative by the Czechs to purchase 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine in the very short term.