Netherlands to buy €500m worth of drones and air defence systems for Ukraine

The Dutch government has pledged to purchase drones and air defence systems for Ukraine worth a total of €500 million. Half of the funds will be allocated through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme.

As reported by Reuters, the Netherlands will buy €250 million worth of drones from its own defence companies. The remaining €250 million will be spent under the PURL initiative, which supplies Ukraine with US-made weapons.

The new commitment raises the Netherlands' total contribution to the initiative to €1 billion. Under the programme, Kyiv receives air defence equipment and missiles, as well as ammunition for F-16 fighter jets and other systems.

The Netherlands and Ukraine have also signed a letter of intent on cooperation in defence innovation.

On 17 June, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs announced an additional €7 million contribution from his country to the PURL initiative for the purchase of US weapons for Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine receives more than 90% of its anti-ballistic missile systems through the PURL initiative.

Ukraine is seeking an additional US$20 billion from its allies to consolidate its temporary advantage on the battlefield and intensify strikes against facilities inside Russia. The request for US$20 billion will be presented at the next meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein format) on 18 June.