The Netherlands will hand over two Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures ships for the needs of the Ukrainian Navy.
This was announced by the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kaisa Ollongren, at a meeting with her Ukrainian colleague, Oleksiy Reznikov, in Odesa.
The main purpose of these ships is to detect, classify and destroy sea mines. The ships underwent a deep modernization in the first decade of the 2000s to update their capabilities, are in excellent condition and perform their assigned tasks. Ships of this class are part of NATOʼs permanently operating ship mine countermeasure groups.
The Dutch side also stated that it is ready to train the crews of these ships.
Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures ship.
Wikimedia
The Dutch television news service RTL Nieuws writes that in the second half of 2023, the Netherlands will begin training the Ukrainian military to use these ships. Ukraine will receive the ships themselves in 2025.
The Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kaisa Ollongren, also reported that the Netherlands would hand over an amphibious bridge combat vehicle to Ukraine, which can be used to build bridges.
- As of February 24, 2022, the Netherlands has already provided Ukraine with €1.2 billion in military aid and reserved €2.5 billion for 2023. For example, together with Germany, the Netherlands has already provided armored howitzers and 100 Leopard 1 tanks, as well as two Patriot launchers and ammunition for them. In addition, the Netherlands trains Ukrainian soldiers.