According to the Dutch defence minister, the country is joining a military alliance with allies like Britain that will provide Ukraine with cutting-edge drone technology and increase its offensive capabilities in the conflict with Russia.
The Netherlands has also promised to provide Ukraine with air defence systems, artillery, ammunition, and F-16 fighter jets.
The Netherlands’ defence minister, Kasja Ollongren, told Reuters in an interview prior to the start of two days of NATO defence minister meetings in Brussels on Wednesday that the country might incur additional expenses on top of the 2 billion euros already allocated for 2024. “We know of course that drones are very important in this war,” Ollongren said. “That’s why we are joining the drone coalition that Ukraine has started together with Latvia, together with other countries, to make sure that we do just that – increase production, use the latest technology and to provide exactly what Ukraine needs.”
Britain’s involvement was declared last month by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. Britain and the Netherlands had previously assisted Ukraine in expanding its unmanned aerial vehicle fleet.
Due in large part to their relatively low cost, drones have become an essential component of both Russia’s and Ukraine’s wartime strategies for both reconnaissance and striking targets. Both sides are expanding their fleets of larger, longer-range unmanned craft, which can fly much farther and carry heavier cameras or more explosives, while also employing thousands of small, low-cost drones, which were originally designed for enthusiasts and racers, to conduct battlefield-level surveillance and attacks.
