The Dutch armed forces are unable to buy enough fuel, ammunition and spare parts and going bankrupt, senior defence officials say in Thursday’s AD.

They say the defence ministry budget needs to be increased by at least €1bn so that the armed forces are in position to carry out their normal duties.

The government has just said it is increasing spending on the armed forces by up to €375m a year in the coming years but this is not enough, senior officials say. ‘This is far from sufficient to keep the army ticking over,’ marine lieutenant captain Marc de Natris told the AD.

‘We have a structural shortage of personnel, spare parts, munition and fuel. Many units can’t be put to work. Just to cope with that we need €500m to €700m a year.’ The extra government cash means ‘new reductions, more divestment’, De Natris said.

Brigadier general Ruud Vermeulen, who chairs the Dutch officers’ association, says the Netherlands is not taking threats seriously. ‘The threat presented by Russia is increasing, unrest in the Middle East is threatening our freedom and this is our reaction?

‘When will we wake up,’ he said. ‘When will we realise that we are starving our armed forces when it has not been so clear for the past 20 years of the importance of a strong army?’

Defence minister Jeanine Hennis had argued for higher spending and said the Netherlands should follow Germany and increase the budget by 6%. That would have meant a rise of €500m, the AD says.