The supply of defensive weapons by the Netherlands to Ukraine is not yet a foregone conclusion. Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) called it “a very sensitive issue” in Kiev on Wednesday, which must be looked at “very precisely”. An earlier request from Ukraine for such weapons will be considered “seriously”, but Rutte did not want to say whether the decision will be very long in coming. According to the prime minister, the Ukrainians “completely understand” this, despite the Russian military threat at the borders.
According to Rutte, the provision of cyber expertise was also discussed during meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On January 14, Ukraine was the target of a large-scale cyber attack, presumably from Russia, which “shocked the whole world”, according to Rutte, who had been in Kiev since Tuesday with Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs, CDA). Rutte was not yet able to say whether there could be a ‘military touch’ to such aid. “I don’t know exactly where to draw the lines, but it is an expertise that the Netherlands has and of which we have said: we are very willing to share it with you.”
According to Rutte and Hoekstra, Ukraine is asking for military and economic aid, but is not waiting for ‘war rhetoric’. “We cannot use this panic,” Zelensky said Friday, citing recent statements by US President Biden that a Russian attack would be imminent. Rutte said on Wednesday: “I completely agree with him.” Hoekstra also says that constantly hinting at “possibly disastrous scenarios can lead to economic instability, devaluation of the currency and companies that decide not to invest after all.” According to the minister, “you may inadvertently give the Russians what they want.”
book rockets
Rutte emphasized that “all our energy” should be focused on dialogue and de-escalation. But: “We shouldn’t be naive either.” If things do go wrong, NATO must be militarily prepared and the EU must be ready with strong sanctions against Russia. Rutte does not think that the threat is exaggerated by American and European intelligence services, a frequently heard Russian reproach. “I can never say anything about the cooperation with other services, but there is real cause for concern. Russia is often ramping up military build-up on the border with Ukraine, but “the recent build-up is of a completely different order.” Rutte: “And it would be strange if the West would say: pomtiedomtiedom, we’ll light another cigar.”
Rutte also points to the Russian demand that NATO withdraw from countries that have been members of the military alliance for years, such as Poland or Lithuania. “That goes very far of course and is not acceptable for the West in that form.” The US announced on Wednesday that it would send additional troops to Europe: about 2,000 soldiers would travel to Poland and Germany and a thousand soldiers already in Germany will be moved to Romania.
The international pilot organizations IFALPA and ECA expressed their grave concern about the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday. The situation in the airspace above the country “appears to be comparable to that of the summer of 2014” when flight MH17 was downed, in all likelihood by a Russian Book missile. Member of parliament Sjoerd Sjoerdsma (D66) asked written questions about this on Wednesday, all the more so because there would now also be Boek missiles at the border. Sjoerdsma wants to know, among other things, whether the ‘lessons from MH17’ have been learned enough and whether civil aviation in the region should not be restricted.
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