Netherlands

The Dutch government is considering shutting down its Facebook pages due to privacy concerns, as Meta (Facebook's parent company) has refused to provide public information about the processing of personal data collected from visitors to government pages, potentially violating privacy laws.

The Netherlands is not the only country willing to buy Patriot air defense batteries from any country for transfer to Ukraine, and there is intense partnership activity to provide Ukraine with air defense systems to protect it from Russian invasion.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that more defense equipment and ammunition for Ukraine is on the way from NATO allies who are determined to support Ukraine and increase their military support.

Today, on April 19, all fans of flowers and spring beauty can join the celebration of Snowdrop Day. The event is celebrated in April because it was founded in 1984 in the United Kingdom, where these flowers appear in this month.

Denmark announced a new aid package for Ukraine and allocated $28. 5 million for the purchase of weapons and military equipment from Ukrainian manufacturers, the first such decision to support the Ukrainian defense industry.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has developed a new methodology for assessing the effectiveness of scientific and technical activities of scientific institutions and higher education institutions, which will allow evaluating scientific work according to new criteria, including research that contributes to the development of Ukraine, with the mandatory participation of international experts and transparency through a digital system.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has received $83. 7 billion in financial assistance from international partners.

The Netherlands proposed to purchase Patriot air defense systems from countries with large stockpiles and transfer them to Ukraine to help in the war with russia.

Three more F-16 multi-role fighter jets have been deployed to Romania, where Ukrainian pilots are expected to begin training soon.

Due to frequent earthquakes caused by gas production, the Netherlands has permanently closed the Groningen gas field, one of the largest in Europe. The decision was made despite legal challenges from Shell and ExxonMobil.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO should play a greater role in coordinating long-term assistance to Ukraine, including immediate needs on the battlefield, predictable financial support, and aid coordination.

Yermak held a working meeting to discuss the main elements of a future security agreement with the United States, including the strengths of existing agreements and actions to be taken after the US Congress decides to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

Latvia will send the first batch of drones produced by its military industry to support Ukraine.

European natural gas prices continued to rise due to the conflict between Iran and Israel.

The Czech Republic has contracted 180,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine and is working to contract another 300,000 rounds as part of its initiative to support Ukraine's defense efforts.

At the extraordinary meeting, international partners promised to start supplying Ukraine with various modifications of drones, including Canada will provide 450 SkyRanger UAVs, Lithuania will allocate funds for the production of FPV drones, the Netherlands will sign contracts with Denmark and Germany for the supply of Heidrun RQ-35 drones.

The Netherlands has allocated an additional 4. 4 billion euros for military and humanitarian support to Ukraine. The Dutch government will also allocate funds to strengthen its own defense.

The crews of two mine countermeasures ships provided by the United Kingdom have already been trained and are on duty, and three more ships from the Netherlands and Belgium are expected to arrive, giving Ukraine at least five mine countermeasures ships in total.

President Zelenskyy announced that Germany would provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense system, and that work is underway to obtain an additional IRIS-T system and missiles for existing air defense systems from Germany.

The Netherlands allocated 1 billion euros for military aid to Ukraine and 400 million euros for its reconstruction, which angered Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

According to the deputy head of the Presidential Administration, Ukraine is currently negotiating with about 10 countries to sign security agreements, with some agreements expected to be signed within a month.

The Netherlands has allocated one billion euros for military aid to Ukraine and 400 million euros for reconstruction, as discussed during a telephone conversation between Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The United States has given the green light for the transfer of 22 Norwegian F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, along with engines, auxiliary materials, spare parts, and other necessary equipment.

The Netherlands will allocate 400 million euros to support Ukraine, in addition to the more than 2 billion euros already reserved for 2024.

Ukrainian acrobats Karina Ostrovska, Elina Kozachanska and Alina Pugach won gold in the women's group balance exercise, silver in the dynamic exercise and the overall silver medal at an international tournament in Las Vegas, losing to the Netherlands.

"There are no Patriot systems in Lithuania. Recently, we had an agreement with the Netherlands that one battery will be deployed to Lithuania for training this summer and that it will be located temporarily, Nausėda emphasized.

Ukrainian pilots are in the final stages of training on F-16 fighter jets in Denmark and the United States, practicing strikes on small targets and improving their skills for real combat missions in Ukraine.

In Utrecht, the Netherlands, the exhibition Labyrinths of Unbreakable Cities, which demonstrates the blockade and destruction of Mariupol by the Russians, opened with interactive displays of the city before and after the Russian invasion, a screening of the documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, and visualizations of the future reconstruction of Mariupol.

Six North Sea countries have signed an agreement to ensure common security standards to protect critical underwater infrastructure, such as energy pipelines and cables, from foreign sabotage and attack.

The EU has sent 167 power generators to Ukraine as emergency aid after Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure severely damaged its power supply.