Ukrainian and Dutch defense ministers meet: What they agreed on
Rustem Umerov and Ruben Brekelmans (photo: facebook.com/rustemumerov.ua)
Today, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans paid an unannounced visit to Ukraine and met his Ukrainian counterpart. The parties reached an agreement to strengthen cooperation in the aviation coalition, says Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
“I held productive talks with the delegation led by the Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ruben Brekelmans. I am sincerely grateful for the comprehensive assistance provided by the Netherlands to protect us from Russian aggression,” the statement said.
He noted that F-16 aircraft in Ukrainian airspace is evidence of the unwavering support of the people and government of the Netherlands.
During the meeting, the ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation within the aviation coalition.
“In particular, regarding crew training and the supply of weapons and spare parts for aircraft,” he said.
Umerov added that “together with the team, we called on our partners to invest even more in Ukrainian defense production.”
Ukrainian and Dutch defense ministers meet
Ukrainian and Dutch defense ministers meet
Ukrainian and Dutch defense ministers meet
As part of his visit to Ukraine, the Dutch defense minister also visited Kharkiv, which suffers from Russian shelling on a daily basis.
In particular, in the late afternoon, he published a post on the social network X, in which he said that he had seen with his own eyes the consequences of heavy Russian bombardment. In addition, he described the current life in Kharkiv and noted how Ukraine can protect itself from shelling.
“Destroyed apartments. Lack of electricity. Children go to school in bunkers. Ukraine can only protect itself from this by keeping Russia at a greater distance,” he wrote.
