Dutch F-16s, Patriots will soon go to Ukraine; NL also donating mobile forensics lab

The Patriot radar and three Patriot launchers promised by the Netherlands will be delivered quickly to Ukraine. “The promised F-16s will also not be long in coming,” Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Odesa. Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp has also promised Ukraine a mobile forensic laboratory and 2 million euros to expand the country’s forensic capacity.

The Patriots will be in Ukraine within about “a few weeks,” Brekelmans told ANP from Odesa. For operational security regions, the exact details of the 24 Dutch F-16 fighter jets will not be announced. But according to the Minister, it will happen “in the short term.”

During the visit to Odesa, Brekelmans saw the destruction that had been caused there. “This shows the importance of adequate air defense. You can help repair damaged power plants, but without good air defense, they can be destroyed again. When Brekelmans asked his Ukrainian counterparts what was most important to them, “air defense came first, second and third,” said the Minister.

During his first official working visit as a Minister, Brekelmans announced that the Netherlands would donate another 10 million euros to Ukraine, with which the armed forces could purchase additional IT resources. The Netherlands had previously given 10 million euros to Ukraine for that purpose.

Veldkamp promised a mobile forensic laboratory and 2 million euros to expand Ukraine's forensic capacity. The Minister also pledged another 8 million euros to the UN monitoring mission investigating Russian human rights violations in Ukraine.

The mobile forensic lab allows investigations into alleged war crimes closer to the front. “This will help to do justice to the many, many dead Ukrainians whose bodies are returning from the front. It will also facilitate the investigation into missing persons,” Veldkamp said after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba. According to Veldkamp, the lab could also help bring back children abducted by Russia and reunite them with their families.

“The Netherlands, together with its EU and NATO allies, has shown over the past 2.5 years that it stands squarely behind Ukraine,” Veldkamp said. “The Russian bombs are having a devastating effect on Ukrainian defense lines, villages, cities, and essential facilities, such as power stations. All this violence cannot go unpunished. The new Cabinet, therefore, continues to support Ukraine in achieving justice.”

According to the Defense Minister, the Ukrainians are satisfied with the concrete support from the Netherlands, “although, according to Zelenskyy, it is still not enough.” The Ukrainians also appreciated that Brekelmans and Veldkamp went to Ukraine on Friday, immediately after the Cabinet meeting. There, both Ministers reiterated the Netherlands’ unconditional support for Ukraine. There were concerns about this in light of the new PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB Cabinet.

The Netherlands will also remain a leader in continuing to convince other countries of the need for aid to Ukraine, both Ministers assured the Ukrainians. “That effort is appreciated,” Brekelmans said.

Hungarian President Viktor Orbán’s recent visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was briefly discussed. “It was mainly about the importance of maintaining unity against Russia and support for Ukraine. We must continue to express our strongest condemnation of the Russian invasion.”