PARIS — The Netherlands won’t be able to spend €750 million (US$790 million) of military aid planned for Ukraine this year because of the tight global market for defense equipment, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.
Military aid for Ukraine has shifted from equipment supplied from stockpiles at the start of the country’s fight against invading Russian forces, to newly produced equipment now, Brekelmans said in a letter to the Dutch parliament on Tuesday. The international defense industry is “doubly burdened” by demand from countries that seek to bolster their own militaries as well as provide support Ukraine, which is impacting delivery schedules, the minister said.
The Netherlands pays for equipment upon delivery, and is no longer able to realize €750 million euros of planned military aid this year, Brekelmans said. The unspent funds will be transferred to the 2025 defense budget, and will remain destined to providing support for Ukraine.
“The funds are thus not lost and the planned destination remains unchanged,” Brekelmans said.
The Ukrainian defense industry faces the same tight market, according to the Dutch minister. While local defense firms would benefit from significant investments, which is something the Netherlands is working on, Ukraine doesn’t have significant amounts of equipment available that can be delivered this year, he said.
The Netherlands has pledged €10.4 billion in military support to Ukraine, of which €9.5 billion has either been realized, legally committed, or is being negotiated with partners and suppliers in preparation of an agreement, Brekelmans said.
The country has plans for the remaining €970 million, aimed at fulfilling urgent needs of Ukraine, mainly in the short term, he said.
”Incidentally, a significant portion of this remaining budget will be used to purchase equipment directly from the Ukrainian defense industry,” Brekelmans told parliament. “While these plans are not yet in the execution phase, new changes would delay the delivery of urgent military support.”
The Dutch government coalition has agreed to continue to actively support Ukraine “politically, militarily, financially and morally.”
Countries across Europe have been boosting their defense budgets following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and spending by European Union countries on equipment is forecast to climb to €90 billion this year from €61 billion in 2023, according to the European Defence Agency.
EU countries are buying more weapons to replenish stocks depleted by providing military aid to Ukraine, address capability gaps and increase preparedness for high-intensity conflict, the EDA said in a report on Wednesday. European suppliers of military hardware such as KNDS, Rheinmetall, Saab and MBDA have all reported record order books.
Dutch military support to Ukraine includes 24 F-16 fighters, a Patriot air-defense system, main battle tanks including 14 Leopard 2A4s, hundreds of YPR tracked armored personal carriers and two mine-hunting vessels.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
