Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on a surprise visit to Kyiv that his country will invest 400 million euros ($440 million) in advanced drone development with Ukraine and deliver more F-16s in the coming months.
More than 2-1/2 years since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine is fighting to thwart Russia’s troops as they inch forward in the east and attack critical infrastructure ahead of the winter months.
“The war, of course, is intensifying every day, and Ukraine is setting up more brigades who all need support, who all need military equipment. We need to have this continuous flow of support,” Brekelmans told Reuters in Kyiv.
The drone action plan will combine Ukraine’s innovation and Dutch knowledge to improve technology used on the battlefield, he said.
“We will focus on different types of drones, so both surveillance drones, more defensive drones, but also the attack drones, because we see that Ukraine needs those more offensive drones also to target military facilities,” Brekelmans said.
Around half of the investment will be spent in the Netherlands, while the rest will be split between Ukraine and other countries, he added.
If the developed drones are successful, more funding will be available to scale up production, according to the defense minister.
The Netherlands has pledged 10 billion euros ($11 billion) in military support for Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion and spent around 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) so far.
