The Dutch cabinet has agreed to free up a further €1 billion for military help for Ukraine, taking the total so far in 2024 to €3 billion.

This week’s attacks on power plants and the death of citizens in attacks on the city of Kharkiv highlight the fact that Ukraine needs more to protect itself, prime minister Mark Rutte said on social media.

Ministers also decided the Netherlands will make €3 billion available for military support in 2024 and €400 million to prop up the Ukrainian economy and to repair the energy infrastructure.

Oekraïne wordt dagelijks geteisterd door Russische agressie. Deze week vonden er grootschalige aanvallen plaats op energiecentrales. Ook kwamen er opnieuw burgers om het leven bij aanvallen op de stad Kharkiv. Oekraïne heeft meer nodig om zichzelf te beschermen.

Daarom hebben… pic.twitter.com/nmToJZWwWl

— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) April 12, 2024

“In addition, we continue to do everything possible to deliver more ammunition and anti-aircraft weapons more quickly,” he said. “We are working closely with Denmark and the Czech Republic, among others, on this. Ukraine must win this battle. For theirs and our security.”

Ukraine’s prime minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response that he had invited the Netherlands to join the pending peace summit in Switzerland. “We also discussed the necessary efforts to ensure that this summit is endorsed by as many countries as possible,” he said.

A date for the conference has not yet been set.