Netherlands to start military exercises with Ukraine, help design new air defense system

The Netherlands will participate in military exercises with Ukraine, Prime Minister Rob Jetten told ANP after a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris. The Netherlands also joined a European coalition to develop anti-aircraft defenses with Ukraine.

The military exercises will not happen in Ukraine, but on EU territory, the Dutch Prime Minister said. These are exercises involving the multinational force that will be deployed in Ukraine after a ceasefire is reached with Russia. They are intended to prepare the troops for this deployment, Jetten said. The exercises are scheduled to happen in the coming months.

According to the Prime Minister, a “large number of countries” will participate in the exercises. They will cover multiple areas, including logistics and air defense, to see what is needed to “actually maintain such a peace agreement.”

It is not yet clear what contribution the Netherlands will make to the exercises. That depends on what France and the United Kingdom request, the Prime Minister said. Those two countries lead the multinational force. As soon as the request is received, “we will determine in the short term how we will contribute to those exercises.”

The Coalition of the Willing is a group of allies that wants to provide Ukraine with security guarantees following a ceasefire. The coalition now includes 37 countries. At the meeting in Paris on Monday, Moldova and North Macedonia joined the coalition.

The deployment of the multinational force in Ukraine is still a long way off. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears determined to continue the war against the neighboring country despite heavy losses. He is giving no signal whatsoever that he is serious about discussing peace.

The Netherlands therefore also joined a coalition with nine other European countries, including Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Sweden, to develop new anti-aircraft defenses with Ukraine. Prime Minister Jetten expects quick results. “We actually expect ot ber able to deliver a portion of the anti-aircraft defenses within a year, and within a year and a half for the more complex cases,” he told ANP.

It involves “homegrown technology that is more efficient and cheaper than much of the American technology we still need,” Jetten said. According to him, the new missiles must initially better defend Ukrainian airspace, but “ultimately also protect European airspace.” Russia has significantly increased the production of ballistic missiles. That also poses a threat to Europe, Prime Minister Jetten said.

For now, Kyiv remains dependent on American Patriot missiles. “But we are going to introduce a European alternative alongside them at a rapid pace,” Jetten said.

European arms companies from the ten countries will collaborate closely to produce the new missiles. Among those participating in the project is Destinus, which has its headquarters in Valkenburg, Zuid-Holland. The company produces drones and cruise missiles.

Russia bombards Ukraine with ballistic missiles almost daily. Currently, Ukraine mainly uses American Patriot missiles against them. But these are increasingly scarce because the Americans used up many of these projectiles in their war against Iran, which started in February.

Ukraine has developed a highly innovative arms industry due to the war with Russia. The country is developing highly advanced drones, but also missiles that attack targets many hundreds of kilometers into Russia.