The cabinet will set aside €2.5 billion for support for Ukraine next year, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Friday after a telephone consultation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is not yet known exactly what it will be spent on. It depends on what the Kiev government needs.
The government expects the amount will be needed for military support, support for critical repair work, and the investigation and punishment of war crimes. It counts on foreseeable Dutch support for as long as it takes,” the government said.
The Netherlands has supported Ukraine since the beginning of the war, in diplomatic, humanitarian and military terms. This year almost one billion euros has been sent in military aid. Dutch soldiers also train the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the military equipment of the Ukrainians is maintained by the Netherlands. In the beginning much came from defense stockpiles, but now the Netherlands also buys weapons and other equipment for Ukraine directly from the industry.
Formation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Dutch soldiers also train the Ukrainian armed forces. This is happening, for example, in the UK. Military equipment belonging to the Ukrainians is also maintained by the Netherlands. Much of this is done in collaboration with other European countries.
To help the country during the winter, the cabinet had previously announced that it would allocate 180 million euros. The money goes towards things like refurbishing the power grid. It is constantly under fire from the Russians.
Ukraine has been fighting the Russian army for more than ten months. He invaded the neighboring country on February 24th. After initial successes, the Russians soon had to retreat. First the Russians retreated around Kiev, then they were expelled from parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
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