Dutch election winner Geert Wilders considers more aid for Ukraine
Geert Wilders (photo: Getty Images)
Geert Wilders, the leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands, has indicated that he is ready to consider the issue of future military aid to Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Wilders, who is aiming to lead a new government after his nationalist PVV party won elections in November, has for months argued the Netherlands should stop supplying weapons to Ukraine because it needed them to defend itself.
Wilders' resistance to further military aid has been one of several stumbling blocks preventing him from forming a coalition government in the three months since his election victory, but in a post on social media platform X, he changed his line.
"The PVV supports Ukraine and is willing to talk about any type of aid," he said, as he called Russia's war against Ukraine illegal and barbaric.
Wilders' potential coalition partners had never backed his aim to stop deliveries. On Friday they reiterated that position, and in a joint statement, several opposition parties said they wanted to continue economic, political, and military support for Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Aid from the Netherlands to Ukraine
The Netherlands, following the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion, has been providing Ukraine with not only military but also financial support. At the end of November, the Dutch Foreign Minister announced plans to provide additional assistance totaling 2.5 billion euros to support Ukraine in 2024.
Additionally, the Netherlands has supplied Ukraine with tanks and other military equipment, and, together with Denmark, leads the aviation coalition.
On December 22, 2023, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte revealed that the government had decided to prepare the first 18 F-16 fighter jets for transfer to Ukraine.
On February 19, it was also reported that the Netherlands, recently joining the drone coalition, had begun supplying drones to Ukraine.
