The Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine militarily, financially and politically, declared the new Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
His coalition cabinet consists of four parties, including the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) of Geert Wilders, which has criticized the extent of Dutch aid to Ukraine in the past. According to the new prime minister, the biggest security risk for the Netherlands comes from the east.
“Ukraine can count on financial, military and political support from the Netherlands,” the new prime minister said. He urged the MPs not to be naive. “Just a few hours’ flight away, a terrible war is raging in which human life has no meaning for Russia,” Schoof said.
The Netherlands is one of the important supporters of Ukraine. For example, it joined the initiative to provide F-16 fighter jets to the country attacked by Russia. Part of the planes should be sent to Ukraine directly by the Netherlands. The previous government of liberal Mark Rutte also promised to allocate 250 million euros (6.3 billion crowns) for the purchase of ammunition as part of the Czech initiative to help Ukraine.
Schoof, who is a former head of the Dutch secret service, leads the cabinet, which was formed after complicated negotiations. The government, which was sworn in on Tuesday, does not include the top political representatives of the parties that support it.
In the November parliamentary elections, the nationalist PVV won. However, its boss Wilders had to give up his ambition to become prime minister because he was unacceptable to the coalition partners. The PVV formed a coalition with the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of the current Prime Minister Rutte, the center-right New Social Contract (NSC) and the smaller right-wing populist agrarian movement BBB.
Source: zpravy.tiscali.cz
