Dutch PM Mark Rutte and Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Kharkiv, signing a 10-year bilateral
security agreement, which includes EUR 2 billion ($2.16 billion) in security assistance
to Ukraine in 2024, Zelenskyy said in his March 1 evening address.
Zelenskyy noted that the Netherlands is actively working to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets.
“This year, new fighters will be in our skies, and this year we have to make it effective in defending against Russian guided bombs, from Russian warplanes, from Russian missiles," the president said.
He added that Ukraine is working with its partners to bolster air defenses around Kharkiv and other cities.
The Dutch Defense Ministry announced that it will supply Ukraine with 14 rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs), eight river patrol boats, and SV90 landing craft. The Netherlands will also contribute EUR 250 million ($270.7 million) to the Czech plan to buy artillery shells for Ukraine from outside the EU.