The cabinet is allocating an additional 175 million euros to support Ukraine. Outgoing Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced this on Tuesday, the first day of the NATO summit. Of that money, 80 million euros will go towards the purchase of new drones.
According to Brekelmans, the newly pledged support is crucial. Cities like Kyiv are still being attacked daily by Russian drones and missiles. The drone detection systems are important to repel these attacks. Heavy fighting is also still taking place on the front lines in the east of the country.
The rest of the money is intended for a hundred radar systems that detect drones and for unmanned vehicles that transport wounded from the front lines, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense.
Earlier this year, the cabinet already pledged 500 million euros for the production of drones. According to Brekelmans, this will allow the Ukrainians to make 600,000 drones. The contracts have been signed in recent days so that they can start producing in Ukraine.
“Ukraine is very important at this summit,” says Brekelmans. At the urging of the Americans, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has a less prominent role than at previous NATO meetings. However, he will attend an industry summit and the king’s dinner.
The message at this summit is that “support will continue unabated,” says Brekelmans. The United States continues to help the government in Ukraine, but Washington wants Europe to take the lead in providing military and financial assistance.