Newly appointed Dutch Defense Minister visits Kyiv to discuss drones and reforms in the Defense Ministry
Kyiv • UNN
Newly appointed Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans made his first working visit to Ukraine, reaffirming unwavering support for Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression and discussing cooperation in military technology, procurement reform, digital solutions and air defense.
The Minister of Defense of the newly appointed Dutch government, Ruben Brekelmans, made his first working visit to Ukraine. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Details
In Kyiv, Brekelmans met with Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defense for European Integration Oleksandr Balanutsa and an expanded delegation from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and reaffirmed the Ministry's unwavering support for Ukraine.
When you say "thank you" for your help, we thank you five times more. You are defending not only your country, but freedom and democracy in the world. We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes
During the visit, the Dutch delegation visited a Ukrainian company that produces drones. During the talks with the Ukrainian delegation, which included Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Serhiy Boyev, special attention was paid to technology as one of the ways to support Ukraine that could be expanded.
Military technologies are developing because Ukrainians test them on the battlefield and pay for it with their blood and lives. We invite you to take an active part in the development of Ukrainian enterprises. We need to be more active. While we are negotiating in the political arena, the number of flags on Ukrainian cemeteries is growing
The parties also discussed the importance of the procurement reform being implemented by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. This initiative aims to make the procurement process more transparent and in line with NATO practices, as described by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Dmytro Klimenkov.
He also invited them to invest in a strategic initiative to develop Ukraine's defense industry.
Today, 70% of all procurement by the Ministry of Defense is made by domestic companies. Ukrainian arms companies demonstrate significant potential and readiness to meet the needs of the defense sector. We invite you to cooperate and invest to build reliable and innovative defense for our countries together
In her turn, Deputy Minister of Defense Kateryna Chernogorenko shared the successes of implementing digital solutions in the defense sector.
Reserve+ is the first mobile application from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The next one will be the Army+ app for the military this summer. Digital products are replacing old, established processes because it is a requirement of the times, not just convenience
Addendum
Also , the Ukrainian and Dutch delegations, with the participation of the Foreign Ministers of both countries, Dmytro Kuleba and Kaspar Veldkamp, laid flowers and honored the fallen Ukrainian soldiers at the Wall of Memory of the Fallen Defenders.
As a result , the Ukrainian delegation thanked the Netherlands for its leadership and participation in coalitions of capabilities, especially in the Air Force coalition. They discussed the urgent need to protect Ukrainian cities from enemy missiles and drones, and agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation in this area.
Recall
The Netherlands has authorized the export of 24 F-16 fighter jets and 7 engines to Ukraine, with the first planes to be delivered soon.
