Netherlands sends another €250 million in air-defense aid to Ukraine amid deadly strikes
The Netherlands is contributing another 250 million euros to Ukraine’s air-defense capabilities, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced Monday, following weekend drone attacks that killed at least four people in Kyiv.
Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said the funds will be used to purchase American-made weapons and F-16 munitions through the U.S. Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a program that allows countries to supply urgently needed military equipment directly from U.S. stockpiles.
“Ukraine urgently needs more military support to defend itself against these air attacks and get through the harsh winter,” Brekelmans said. “This weekend was yet another sad low point in the Russian terror campaign from the air.”
Brekelmans detailed that the weapons provided through PURL include air-defense systems, air-defense missiles, F-16 ammunition, and unmanned systems. He emphasized that procurement through the United States is currently “the only way to get more air-defense ammunition there in a very short time.”
The new 250 million euro package follows a Dutch purchase of 500 million euros in American weapons for Ukraine in August, making the Netherlands the first country to participate in a U.S. initiative announced by former President Donald Trump. The program requires allied nations, rather than the United States, to pay for the weapons supplied to Ukraine.
Brekelmans said that ongoing peace talks must not slow military support. “The peace negotiations should not distract from fully and massively supporting Ukraine,” he said. “It is very important to keep pressure on Russia high, both through diplomatic and economic channels and through military deliveries to Ukraine. This strengthens Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table.”
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Moscow this week, where he is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff also attended weekend discussions in Florida with a Ukrainian delegation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump adviser Jared Kushner.
