Netherlands to spend another €500m on military aid for Ukraine

The Netherlands is to spend a further €500 million on military support for Ukraine, with half the money going to drones built by the Dutch defence industry, defence minister Dilan Yesilgöz has said.

Yesilgöz announced the package during a visit to The Hague by her Ukrainian counterpart, Mykhailo Fedorov.

Half the total – €250 million – will buy drones from Dutch manufacturers, the minister said. The rest will go towards American weapons, including Patriot air defence missiles and F-16 fighter jets.

The money comes from funds already set aside for military aid to Ukraine. The Netherlands has supplied around €12 billion in support since signing a 10-year security agreement with Kyiv in 2024.

Drones have become central to the fighting and now extend to unmanned ground vehicles and naval craft as well as aircraft, the ministry said.

The Netherlands has already put some €500 million into Ukrainian drone production, and in April the two countries signed a drone production deal alongside a €248 million package.