Dear attendees,
Dear Mr. Prime Minister, dear journalists, dear guests,
Today we welcome the Prime Minister of the Netherlands to Ukraine, and I am grateful that this visit is so important and so symbolic – coming to Ukraine almost immediately after the beginning, Rob, of your work at the head of the new Government. Your first visit was to Brussels, your second visit is to Kyiv, and this shows that the Netherlands will continue to be a defender of a united democratic Europe, a defender of normal life, and that Ukraine is among the priorities. We are very grateful for this.
The Netherlands has supported us since the first days of this war in many aspects. This includes defense support and assistance to our energy sector. Today Rob and I discussed energy and preparations for the next season. Support for sanctions against Russia, as well as political support for Ukraine. We especially appreciate your work on justice – on holding all Russian war criminals and Russia itself accountable for this completely unprovoked war of aggression. It is precisely in the Netherlands that work is ongoing to establish a tribunal for Russia’s aggression, and we expect that this year the tribunal will already be organizationally prepared. Today the Prime Minister and I managed to discuss essentially all of these aspects, and we also discussed many bilateral issues – and, by the way, in a very substantive way.
Thank you that the Netherlands will continue to support our defense. I informed the Prime Minister about the situation we are facing and about the Russian attacks that do not stop for a single day. That is why we need stable, steady support every day for as long as this war continues. The Netherlands demonstrates exactly the kind of support that works most effectively. This is a predictable annual volume, and we are grateful for this decision – €3 billion every year. Thank you for this.
The Netherlands is also investing in the PURL initiative, which is critical for us and enables the purchase of air defense missiles. Of course, these are primarily PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles. And this is the only option for us today: Ukraine can receive at least the minimum number of missiles required for Patriot systems to protect us against Russian ballistic threats. It is important that together with the Netherlands we are already producing weapons. We have begun this work. And we will certainly continue this joint work and expand it. In particular, this is provided for in the joint statement adopted today between our states. We discussed this in detail during the meeting: investments, possible licenses, and production volumes – everything that is a priority today.
Last week on the frontline in Druzhkivka there was also a very specific request from our military regarding radars. I will not go into details now, but they are very much needed. This is something that helps in protection – in protecting the soldier. It is a serious challenge and a very painful issue. The Netherlands is one of the countries that produces some of the best radars of this kind, and today we discussed this request as well. I conveyed the request from our Armed Forces to the Prime Minister.
Of course, we also spoke in detail about the challenges caused by the war in the Middle East. We understand what is happening there and the nature of that war. We discussed some details about strikes on Gulf countries. We expect coordination on this. And you know that in Europe we are also coordinating with several states so that Europe’s interests are secured and so that destabilization around Iran does not exacerbate problems in Europe.
Ukraine has already begun making its contribution in this direction – to stabilization. As you all already know, the countries of the region and the United States have turned to Ukraine for support – and we will provide them with the necessary means, and above all our expertise – the experience of our military – to protect against “shaheds,” cruise missiles, and so on. But it is important that this example of the United States and the Gulf countries turning to Ukraine also becomes an impetus for Europe and our other partners – an impetus to implement what is necessary for shared security on our continent. Just like the Middle East, Europe needs to strengthen its defenses. We see how many air defense systems there were in the Middle East, including Patriots, but this is not enough against modern attacks and modern technologies. Ukraine has the expertise and the experience. All countries recognize, by the way, that this is the greatest experience today, and we also have the relevant production capabilities. We must share all this experience with our close friends and partners in Europe.
And a few more points. The Prime Minister and I also spoke about countering Russian oil tankers – the shadow fleet. This is a very relevant issue. Russia’s war directly depends on Putin’s ability to earn money from oil. That is why it is so important that European states stop the movement of tankers carrying Russian oil, which are still numerous in European seas. I know that the Netherlands is developing appropriate steps. Perhaps these will be legislative changes. Nevertheless, we must take every possible step to block and confiscate the shadow tanker fleet and the oil. It is important that this works. We have also discussed this with France, with other states, and with the European Commission – such decisions are needed. Just as sanctions against Russia are needed – the 20th sanctions package is necessary. We very much hope that partners will be able to unblock it.
And I am also grateful to the Netherlands for supporting the issue of a stable financial security guarantee for Ukraine – €90 billion for two years. We raised this issue with Rob today. This support is indispensable for us, and how many lives we are able to protect from Russian strikes directly depends on it. It is important that we are working very constructively on this issue with the vast majority of Europe. It is important that all countries support us in this. Thank you again, Rob, for making this a priority in your diplomatic work and for your visit. You are very welcome. Thank you so much.
Glory to Ukraine!
