The Netherlands Will No Longer Be Able to Provide Direct Military Aid to Kyiv: What Are the Reasons?
7 July 16:21
The Netherlands is no longer able to provide direct military support to Ukraine. This was stated by Dutch Defense Minister Dylan Yesilgez-Zegerus in an interview with Bloomberg, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“We—the Netherlands—no longer have the capacity, because we have already done so much,” Yesilgez-Zegerus said in Ankara, where the NATO summit is taking place.
On missiles for the Patriot system: “We have reached the limit of our capabilities”
When asked about Kyiv’s request for interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense systems, Yesilgez-Zegerus noted: “We have reached the limit of our capabilities.”
The Netherlands has allocated 9.1 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine, with another 11.6 billion euros planned. The country has also transferred 1 billion euros as part of NATO’s “Priority List of Ukraine’s Needs” (PURL) initiative, which is funded by European allies.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces failed to shoot down any of the 29 missiles
Earlier, Colonel Yuriy Ignat, a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force, stated that on the night of July 5–6, Ukraine’s air defense failed to shoot down any of the 29 Russian missiles flying on a ballistic trajectory, due to a lack of interceptors for the Patriot systems.
“To shoot down ballistic missiles, you need the right equipment. We have enough systems; what we need is a steady supply of missiles,” Ignat said. “The Russians are exploiting the fact that there is a serious shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles in Ukraine and around the world.”
Zelenskyy: Political Will Is Needed
Earlier, on July 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the shortage of interceptor missiles during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and called on participants to help supply them to the Patriot systems. “Ukraine urgently needs interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems. We all know our partners have them. What is needed now is the political will to provide them—first and foremost from the United States,” Interfax-Ukraine quoted him as saying.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised that the issue of strengthening Ukraine’s air defense would be discussed at the NATO summit. The summit is taking place on July 7–8 in Ankara.
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