Netherlands announces aid to Ukraine with F-16 armament and maintenance at Ramstein-format meeting

At the meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine’s Defence on 6 September, Ruben Brekelmans, Dutch Minister of Defence, announced a new military aid package for Kyiv, connected with the maintenance of the F-16 fighter jets.

Brekelmans stated that the Netherlands would provide the equipment for technical maintenance of the F-16s, deployed by Ukraine, as well as air-to-air missiles that the fighter jets will be able to use for the protection of Ukraine's airspace.

For operational security reasons, Brekelmans did not disclose any details about the quantity and types of equipment to be provided.

He did not specify when the aid would be provided but stressed that the Netherlands is committed to sending the necessary funds to Ukraine as soon as possible.

"The Netherlands will supply €80 million worth of materials. Besides large quantities of spare parts, these include generators, small vehicles, essential maintenance materials, specialised tools, and stairs," he said.

Ukraine has been deploying the F-16 fighter jets since late summer, and, as stated by unofficial reports, it has only received six aircraft from the Netherlands.

On the evening of 29 August, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack. 

The crash, according to The WSJ, raised questions among Ukraine's Western allies about the need to hastily train the pilots and send them into combat just weeks after their arrival for training.