The Netherlands will provide 90 million euros in aid for Ukraine to produce reconnaissance and attack drones, Evropeiska Pravda reported on 15 October, citing Dutch Defense Minister Reuben Brekelmans.
His assessment agrees with existing data. On average, Ukrainian drone developers are using just over 50% of their production capacity, and most would be able to continue scaling up if they had the revenue to do so.
"Moscow has to pay price for aggression"
While Ukraine’s innovation with unmanned technologies has kept it in the fight against its wealthier and numerically superior foe, the country has struggled to scale up this innovation, the pace of production, and the tactical adaptation of separate frontline units.
Meanwhile, Russia used the lessons learned from Ukrainian battlefields to rapidly scale its own solutions to overwhelm the defenders and effect its slow forward push along multiple parts of the front line.
“Now [Russian president Vladimir] Putin feels that he gains with every day of continuing Russian aggression in Ukraine and we need to make sure that the costs for Putin go up. That means a stable flow and also a long-term commitment to Ukraine, when it comes to military support,” Brekelmans told the media.
Brekelmans said that he includes bilateral agreements and drawing on frozen Russian assets under support. He also called for more sanctions and economic pressure on Moscow.
"We need to make sure that by more sanctions, more economic pressure on Russia, Putin feels that he can not continue this way, and that we in the end, together with Ukraine, will prevail," Brekelmans was quoted as saying.
More Dutch military support
This aid package will be separate from the 200 million euros to bolster Ukraine’s anti-drone defense announced by the Netherlands several days ago.
During his visit to Kyiv, the Dutch defense minister also signed a memorandum of understanding with his counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, for the joint production of deep strike drones as part of the Build With Ukraine initiative, which enables Ukraine to produce arms in other countries.
Under this program, Ukrainian manufacturers can transfer weapons production technology to foreign participants, while retaining their ownership rights. Participants include Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Canada, and Sweden.
Brekelmans also announced plans to create a “Dutch defense cluster” in the Ukrainian capital, where companies from the Netherlands can “invest and develop their technologies and potential.”
