This is being done in addition to the political, financial and military support the Netherlands is already providing at bilateral level and in an EU/NATO context - Defense Express reports citing report on the Netherlands’ government portal.
The goods in question are 3,000 combat helmets and 2,000 ballistic vests with accompanying armour plates, 30 metal detectors and 2 wire-guided detection robots for land and sea mine detection, 2 ground surveillance radar systems and 5 weapon locating radar systems, and 100 sniper rifles with 30,000 rounds of ammunition.
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On the basis of Ukraine’s request, the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands drew up an inventory of military goods that could be provided. This list was then carefully assessed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs against the eight criteria of the EU Common Position on arms export, after which Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher granted the export licence.
“The Netherlands is supporting Ukraine in many ways and will also provide military goods, as some other partners are also doing” - Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren said. “We are doing so out of solidarity, and as a part of a broader package together with EU and NATO allies.”
Despite of the military goods supply there will be no Dutch troops in Ukraine. “Ukraine is not a member of NATO. Therefore, no Dutch military personnel will be deployed to Ukraine for combat operations. The training required for the use of some of the military goods will be given outside Ukraine,” - reported on the Netherlands’ government portal.
In light of the tense security situation on its eastern flank, NATO needs to be able to respond swiftly to new developments. It has therefore further raised the readiness of the NATO Response Force. “This ensures that NATO is prepared for all possible scenarios for the defence of the Alliance,” Dutch Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren said. “As a result, the readiness of units of the Dutch armed forces is also being raised.”
In his turne Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra stated:“The core element of the government’s efforts remains a focus on deescalating the situation through dialogue and diplomacy. Preventing war remains the highest priority. At the same time, Ukraine must be able to defend itself against a possible armed attack on its own territory by Russia. This is why the government has decided to supply these military goods to Ukraine.”
As Defense Express reported, recently the situation in temporarily occupied territories of Donbas escalated. An enormous amount of shelling from Russian occupation forces caused injuries to civilians. Russia is likely preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine. Warnings and possible scenarios of invasion come from various officials, including US President Joe Biden and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Pentagon earlier warned that a fake video could be used by Russia to justify such military actions.
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