Netherlands and another country intend to jointly hand over to Ukraine another "Patriot" air defense system, after Romania made a similar decision this week. This was announced by the Dutch Minister of Defense Kaisa Olongren to the news website "ANL Times", quoted by the UNIAN and BTA agencies.
According to the minister, the Netherlands and one other country have managed to assemble a functioning "Patriot" system. of various components to be provided to Kyiv.
Olongren said air defense is key for Ukraine to counter Russian attacks.
She pointed out that at a meeting last week in Brussels, dedicated to the supply of systems "Patriot" of Ukraine, another package of military aid has been approved. According to the minister, "the pieces of the puzzle" are already lining up.
Olongren declined to name the second country that will participate with the Netherlands in the delivery of another Patriot system. for Ukraine and added that this country should announce this itself.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal discussed key areas of support for Kyiv with acting US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass, Ukrinform reported, referring to Shmygal's Facebook post, BTA reported.
„The support of the USA is very important for Ukraine. We discussed key areas of support with Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass. I thanked the US for participating in the Global Peace Conference and for its support for the peace formula. "We have taken an important step towards peace on the European continent," noted the Ukrainian Prime Minister.
The two also discussed Ukraine's accession to NATO, the recovery of the Ukrainian energy sector through USAID programs, as well as joint production of defense products.
„We paid special attention to the delivery of the necessary weapons, especially for air defense. We are grateful to the United States for its decision to provide Ukraine with missiles for the Patriot air defense system, Shmigal wrote.
In his words, the US will provide Ukraine with $7.8 billion in direct budget aid this year. This will help to strengthen the macro-financial stability of the country.
John Bass arrived yesterday in Kiev, where he has meetings with Ukrainian officials and other partners.