Dutch Prime Minister visits Irpin, Kyiv region, as part of a working visit to Ukraine

The mayor of Irpin that suffered great deaths and destruction at the hands of russia's occupying army asked the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, to help reconstruct the city.

Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn reported this on Telegram.

"I just spoke with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, who visited Irpin as part of a working visit to Ukraine. I gave him a presentation of the destruction of our city and asked for his country's help in rebuilding the destroyed homes of the people of Irpin, our schools, and kindergartens," the mayor noted.

Markushyn also thanked Rutte for the strong support of Ukraine and Ukrainians.

In late June, as POLITICO reported, on the sidelines of a NATO leaders' summit in Madrid, PM Rutte said his "big concern at the moment" was the "difficult" military situation in eastern Ukraine, where russian troops made slow but constant advances. "It is essential that Ukraine is getting supplied with sufficient heavy weapon systems," Rutte said.

The Dutch leader said that Germany and Netherlands had already announced they would send six state-of-the-art Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers to Ukraine, in addition to 12 of the same pieces of artillery that the two countries had delivered.

When leaders of seven NATO countries gathered at the Catshuis, Rutte's official residence in The Hague, in preparation for the NATO summit in Madrid, Rutte stated that russia must lose the war. And Ukraine must have access to all weapons, he added.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in the Turkish capital Ankara, on a visit for the 9th Wittenburg Conference between Turkey and the Netherlands: "What many of the governments in Europe and North America do is seeking to help out Ukraine. The one most important thing we can currently help Ukraine with is military equipment." 

Reference

The Netherlands was one of the first European countries to pledge significant military aid to Ukraine before russia launched its invasion of the country on the 24th of February. This aid consisted of two Thales Squire ground surveillance radars, five AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder weapon-locating radars, two SeaFox autonomous underwater vehicles for mine detection, 100 (anti-materiel) sniper rifles along with 30,000 rounds of ammunition, and 3000 helmets and 2000 flak jackets, the Onyx reports.

After the invasion had begun, an additional aid package that included 50 Stinger MANPADS launchers with 200 missiles and 50 Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons along with 400 rockets was quickly announced. Not much later, the Dutch Minister of Defense announced it would no longer provide details on arms deliveries to Ukraine to safeguard operational security.

The Netherlands made €20 million available for emergency aid. The United Nations is using this money to provide emergency assistance in Ukraine and neighboring countries. This includes distributing food and water and offering medical care.

The Netherlands has provided the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with €1 million to support the expansion of the OHCHR's human rights work in Ukraine. This includes documenting and reporting human rights violations.

The Netherlands is supporting the International Criminal Court with an additional €1 million for the investigation and prosecution of the russian perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine.

Read Rubryka's daily timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.