The most talked about news this week is the visit of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte (Mark Rutte) to the United States. In the relaxed atmosphere of the Oval Office, in front of the fireplace, hot topics were discussed with the current owner of the White House, Joe Biden, in particular, the intention of the Netherlands to send the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine.
What is Patriot?
Patriot air defense systems are medium to high altitude air defense systems used by the United States and allies. The Patriot missile can shoot down ballistic missiles, helicopters and planes from the sky. In the Netherlands, the Patriot air defense system has been used since 1987. Last year, a Dutch Patriot unit was deployed to Slovakia shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. These weapons systems have also previously been deployed in Israel and Turkey.
Ukraine has long been asking its Western partners for modern air defense systems, as Russia often bombards the country with missiles and drones. Recently, the target is the energy system of Ukraine. In particular, on Saturday, January 14, a Russian missile hit a multi-storey residential building in the Dnieper. According to the latest data, 44 people died, twenty people are still missing.
The Dutch Patriot complexes have recently been upgraded. These are complex systems, and Ukrainian soldiers will likely need months of training to get the hang of them. However, at the end of December, the United States announced the transfer of the first Patriot battery to Ukraine, and on January 5, Germany joined the initiative and announced the transfer of another Patriot battery to Kyiv. And, according to the American media, the training of Ukrainians will begin next week at a base in Oklahoma.
Position of Mark Rutte
Notably, this was Rutte's first visit to US President Joe Biden. Earlier, Rutte admitted that under Trump he was sometimes uncomfortable, but Biden impressed him as a politician. "He is a true transatlantic strategist", - says Rutte about the US president and emphasizes the importance of relations between the two countries.
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands tweeted: “The Netherlands and the United States are jointly helping the Ukrainian army to resist the Russian invasion and ultimately win the war. In addition, the US and the Netherlands are working together to secure NATO's eastern flank. Thus, the United States is the most important strategic partner for our security. Of course, the main topic of our talks (with Joe Biden) was the war in Ukraine. Let one thing be clear: The Netherlands has 2023 billion euros in reserve in 2,5, mostly for weapons. Ukraine must win this war.” Rutte praised the US support for Ukraine: “I am convinced that history will judge that if the United States had not acted in this way in 2022, then with the struggle of Ukraine and with Russian aggression, everything would have been very different.”
However, directly in the Oval Office, he said: "We intend to join what you are already doing with Germany, the Patriot program." This means that we want to do more than just organize training for Ukrainian military personnel.” But whether this directly concerns the transfer of Patriot systems, Rutte cannot yet say, negotiations are still ongoing.
So, the Netherlands intends to participate in the Patriot program along with Germany and the United States. But Rutte could not confirm if this means the Netherlands will supply Patriots for Ukraine.
Dutch support
The Netherlands has previously sent armored howitzers, anti-aircraft missiles, armored vehicles, ammunition and radar equipment to Ukraine. And now, in addition to the planned allocation of 2,5 billion euros (which we wrote about in our article), the Dutch contribution to the Patriot program for Ukraine will "essential" (according to Rutte).
The support of the Netherlands in Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression is highly appreciated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. On Twitter, he thanked Prime Minister Mark Rutte for announcing his intention to participate in the Patriot program. “This significantly improves air defense, protects our cities and people from the missile terror of the Russian Federation.Zelensky said. — Together we are moving towards a common victory.”.
Publication Date: 23.01.2023
