The Netherlands announced on Monday that it will contribute 500 million euros to purchase US military equipment for Ukraine, becoming the first NATO country to contribute to a new mechanism to supply Kiev with US weapons.
United States President Donald Trump said last month that the US would supply weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but gave no details on how this would work.
"As the first NATO ally, the Netherlands will deliver a €500 million package of US weapons systems (including Patriot parts and missiles)," Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said in a post on X.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, welcomed the announcement and said he had encouraged other alliance members to participate in the new mechanism, called the NATO Initiative for the Prioritized Ukraine Requests List (PURL).
"This is to give Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression," Rutte said in a statement.
"I have written to all NATO allies, urging them to contribute to this burden-sharing initiative, and I expect further important announcements from other allies soon," he added.
The US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, told Reuters on Monday that he expected many more countries to announce in the coming weeks that they would participate.
"We are moving as quickly as possible," Whitaker said in an interview at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Asked about a timeline for sending US weapons to Ukraine through the new mechanism, he said: "I think we will see very rapid progress, certainly in the coming weeks, but maybe even sooner."
"The Dutch are just the first of many. You will see a series of announcements in the coming weeks," he added.
NATO said it will coordinate the new initiative, which is funded by the alliance's European members and Canada, and will be divided into packages worth approximately $500 million each.
Kiev welcomed the Netherlands' decision.
"Ukraine, and thus all of Europe, will be better protected from Russian terror," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.
"I am sincerely grateful to the Netherlands for its significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine's air defense," he added. (A2 Televizion)
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