Ukraine receives Patriot air defense system from Netherlands
19 April, 2023 Patriot air defense system launcher of the Netherlands. Photo credits: NATO media library Ukraine received components of the Patriot SAM system and ammunition for them from the Netherlands.
Oleksandr Pavlyuk, the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, voiced this in his social media accounts. "Patriot air defense systems from the USA, the Netherlands and Germany have arrived in Ukraine. Such air defense systems will make it possible to defend [Ukraine] against Russian cruise missiles and UAVs," Pavlyuk said.
Previously, Militarnyi reported that on January 20, 2023 Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, during a meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, also agreed to supply Ukraine with spare parts for Patriot SAM maintenance. As part of the concluded agreements, the Netherlands was to hand over two Patriot air defense systems launchers and an unspecified number of anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. The launchers are not capable of autonomous air defense tasks, so they will be integrated into an American or German Patriot battery for tighter airspace cover.
The arrival of the German MIM-104 Patriot SAM system in Ukraine became known on April 18. The transfer of air defense systems to Ukraine was supposed to take place immediately after the completion of Ukrainian operators' training in Germany.
Patriot air defense system of the German armed forces. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany
Military aid to the Netherlands
As of the beginning of February, military aid from the Netherlands for Ukraine reached more than EUR1 billion.
As part of the military aid, the country purchased 45 T-72 tanks for Ukraine, handed over two hundred YPR-765 tracked armored personnel carriers, Fennek reconnaissance vehicles and Viking tracked vehicles. The country is also preparing for the transfer of Leopard 1 tanks jointly with Denmark and Germany (at least 100 units). The Netherlands also handed over eight PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers and 120-mm mortars.
To strengthen the capabilities of the Navy, the process of transferring two Alkmaar-class minehunters was initiated.
Alkmaar-class HNLMS Haarlem (M853) minehunter of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Photo from open sources
In addition to the two declared launchers of the Patriot air defense system with the corresponding missiles, the Netherlands is transferring MR-2 anti-aircraft guns (100 units), as well as Stinger MANPADS.
The list of military aid can be found in more detail in the article of Militarnyi about the military aid of the Netherlands, which it provided to Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion.