The Netherlands thus joins the United States and Germany, which have already announced that they will support Ukrainian air defense with these systems. Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian armed aggression since the end of last February.
“I think it is important that we join and I discussed this this (Tuesday) morning also with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,” Rutte said. According to the ANP agency, Rutte also said that he had already discussed the matter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Biden thanked Rutte for supporting Ukraine. He also said he was looking forward to talks on strengthening the supply chain. Rutte also recalled that the Netherlands had decided to spend an additional 2.5 billion euros to support Ukraine, which his government had announced earlier.
According to the Netherlands, Rutte and Biden will discuss further support for Ukraine “as well as further cooperation in the field of defense and security and the strengthening of bilateral trade relations”.
Patriot systems can engage airborne targets with a high degree of accuracy and have advanced sensors to help identify them.
Russia attacks targets in Ukraine with missiles, guided missiles and drones, often Iranian-made. They are trying to destroy key energy infrastructure, as a result of which millions of people in the attacked country are often without electricity, water and heat supplies. But Russian missiles also hit civilian objects, such as residential buildings. On Saturday, more than 40 people died in such an attack in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine.
The Americans will withdraw the Patriot system from Slovakia for maintenance
Europe
