The Netherlands will deliver two mine hunters and other military equipment to Ukraine. Minister Kajsa Ollongren (Defense) promised this during a visit to the war-torn country.
Mine hunters are ships that can detect sea mines. The mine hunters supplied by the Netherlands can be used to clear the many sea mines in the Black Sea after the war.
These are mine hunters of the Alkmaar class that would be replaced anyway. The Netherlands will deliver the ships to Ukraine as soon as it has the replacement ships.
“With this delivery, Defense continues to have the necessary mine countermeasures capability,” says Ollongren. According to her, the impact on the Dutch armed forces is “minimal and assessed as acceptable”.
The ships are expected to be delivered from 2025. In the meantime they are being prepared for use. From the second half of 2023, the education and training of Ukrainian crew will start. The Netherlands is doing this in collaboration with Belgium and possibly other allies.
Ollongren emphasizes that a ‘clean’ Black Sea is of great importance for “European security and global food security”.
Ollongren visited Ukrainian ports
The Netherlands also supplies radar systems to detect drones. Ukraine will also receive special amphibious vehicles of the M3 type. Those vehicles can be used to build a bridge quickly.
Ollongren announced the new deliveries during a visit to the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. She also visited the port city of Mykolaiv with her Ukrainian counterpart. Odesa is an important city for the export of grain, which is transported by ship across the Black Sea.
The Dutch minister laid a wreath in Odesa for soldiers who died in the war against the Russian aggressor. She also visited an unfinished Ukrainian warship and spoke with Ukrainian soldiers.
