Dutch providing Ukraine with F-16 ammunition, drones, minister says

The Netherlands is providing Ukraine with 350 million euros for F-16 fighter jet ammunition and advanced reconnaissance drones, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview at the conclusion of a two-day trip to Ukraine, Ollongren said she had come to show solidarity and announce the new aid package.

At the Ramstein group meeting of Ukraine’s allies, Ollongren said 150 million euros will fund guided air-to-ground missiles that can be fired from F-16s, while 200 million will go to Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) drones, according to a Dutch defence ministry press release.

The Netherlands has pledged 2 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine in 2024. A significant share will fund ammunition and drones, which Kyiv has said are desperately needed to end battlefield losses against Russia.

Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States expect to deliver the first of dozens of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this summer after establishing a pilot training programme and donating aircraft.

In Kyiv, Ollongren said the Danish aircraft would arrive first, but they would be followed by the first Dutch planes later in 2024.

“I’m very confident that we will start delivering F-16s this summer… Denmark first, and we have a schedule … so in the second half of the year the Dutch F-16s will be going this way.”

Asked about the pause in U.S. military aid as Republicans in Congress block a crucial aid bill, Ollongren said that while Ukraine had many friends in Europe, continuing without U.S. support would be difficult.

“That would not be easy, and I hope it is not the direction we are going in,” she said.

Ollongren said European production of ammunition would be scaled up “significantly” by the end of the year so that the artillery munition deficit faced currently by Ukraine would not be repeated.

“We have to be realistic, and consider the possibility that it might be a lengthy war, and it is better to plan for a long war,” she said.

Ollongren said the Dutch armed forces were learning lessons from the ramping up of drone warfare in Ukraine.

“This technology has developed more quickly than anybody would have anticipated two years ago, and we have to learn.”

Dutch drone technology companies Deltaquad, Avalor AI and AEC Skyline discussed cooperation with Ukrainian officials to increase Kyiv’s production capabilities. Several industrial contracts were signed with Ukraine, the Dutch Defence Ministry said.

During Ollongren’s visit to the eastern Dnipro region, Ukrainian military leaders repeated their calls for more air defence systems, spare parts and ammunition which is needed to halt advances by better-equipped Russian forces.