loading…
The Netherlands promises to send two Patriot missile system launchers to Ukraine as support against the Russian invasion. Photo/REUTERS
AMSTERDAM – Dutch Prime Minister (PM) Mark Rutte has promised a “substantial contribution” to air defense Ukraine .
Details of the contribution pledge were revealed on Friday in the form of two launchers Patriot made in the United States, a batch of missiles for the system, and a promise to train several hundred Ukrainians in its use.
“This is a political signal to Russia that the cabinet is determined to continue supporting Ukraine,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a letter to Parliament, as quoted by Russia Today, Saturday (21/1/2023).
He noted that this was done in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for assistance in strengthening Kiev’s air defense against Russian missile and drone attacks.
Also read: After the US and Germany, it’s the Netherlands’ turn to promise to send Patriot Missile Systems to Ukraine
Some 65 Royal Netherlands Marines will also train a total of 400 Ukrainian troops in the UK, with training scheduled to run until April.
Each Patriot system battery typically consists of eight launchers, a ground radar and a control station. According to Ollongren, the Dutch military has three active batteries with a fourth in reserve.
“We can spare them,” said the minister. “It is very important to help Ukraine now. Innocent people are affected and you have to do what you can.”
His letter came three days after PM Rutte visited Washington and promised a “substantial contribution” of the Patriot missile system to Kiev, without specifying the amount.
The US and Germany have also promised to deliver at least two Patriot missile system batteries to Ukraine, but the Pentagon says that process will take months.
Russia has repeatedly warned the West that sending weapons to Ukraine would only prolong the conflict and risk direct confrontation.
Developed in the 1980s, the Patriot missile system was first used in combat against Iraqi ballistic missiles during the 1991 Gulf War.
A number of third-generation Patriot systems were deployed in Saudi Arabia in January 2020, but failed to defeat drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saudi Aramco’s oil refinery and several military bases.
(min)
