The Netherlands will provide Ukraine an additional €2.5 billion aid package in 2024.
The TRT World reported on this.
The additional package demonstrates the strong and unwavering support of the Dutch government for Ukraine and will continue for as long as it is needed.
The Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine with whatever it takes and as long as it takes. The Netherlands “is pleased to announce that we will support Ukraine with an additional €2.5B support package for 2024, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said.
It should be noted that the announcement of a new aid package for 2024 came after Dutch Defense Minister, Kajsa Ollongren, said the military aid to help meet Ukraine’s ammunition needs and maintain platforms and systems had already been delivered to Ukraine.
The Netherlands was one of the first countries after the full-scale invasion to start formulating financial and military aid packages.
Since February 2022, the Netherlands has provided Ukraine with firearms, sniper rifles, Patriot air defense systems, F-16 fighter jets, armored vehicles, and other military equipment.
In addition, the country and the Kingdom of Denmark have begun to establish a training center in Romania, where Ukrainian pilots will be trained to operate F-16 fighter jets.
As Militarnyi previously reported, the Netherlands plans to increase the number of F-16 fighter jets in Romania to speed up and increase training intensity for Ukrainian pilots.
By the end of the year, the country aims to deploy up to 18 F-16 fighter jets to the Romanian air base. Before that, the government did not give an exact figure concerning F-16 quantity in Romania; it varied from 12 to 18 aircraft.
The Chief of Defence of the Netherlands Armed Forces, General Onno Eichelsheim, emphasized that the increase in the number of these fighter jets will have a positive impact on the quality and speed of training for Ukrainian pilots.
While the F-16s are in Romania, they will remain the property of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. According to him, training for Ukrainian pilots should begin early next year.