The Netherlands to allocate €500 million for drones for Ukraine and support for PURL

The Netherlands will allocate €500 million to strengthen Ukraine’s drone capabilities and support the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism. The announcement was made during Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s visit to the Netherlands.

During a meeting between Mykhailo Fedorov and Dutch Minister of Defence Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, the two sides discussed further defence cooperation that will help increase pressure on russia and bring the war to an end from a position of strength.

In particular, the Netherlands will allocate an additional €250 million to support the development of Ukraine’s drone capabilities. This contribution will strengthen Ukraine’s ability to employ drones that have already proven highly effective on the battlefield.

A further €250 million will be allocated through the PURL mechanism, including for the provision of missiles to counter russian ballistic missile threats.

During the meeting, the defence ministers also signed an agreement on defence innovation and defence industry cooperation.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine team emphasised the importance of supporting the Drone Line initiative, particularly through the expansion of units’ middle strike-capabilities.

The parties also discussed opportunities for exchanging technologies and solutions under the Drone Deal agreement. The Netherlands could gain access to Ukrainian defence technologies, along with insights from their combat employment in modern warfare.

Mykhailo Fedorov thanked Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius for her support in key areas and her willingness to expand bilateral cooperation.

Mykhailo Fedorov also held a meeting with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten. The parties discussed further support for Ukraine in line with its key defence priorities.

The Minister of Defence of Ukraine thanked the Netherlands for its consistent and effective support, which is delivering tangible results on the battlefield.

An important focus of the meeting was the launch of joint drone production. Under the Drone Deal agreement signed by the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Ukraine has granted an export licence for the joint production of unmanned systems with the Dutch company VDL.

This is an important step in advancing a win-win partnership between Ukraine and the Netherlands.

The parties also discussed continued funding for the Drone Line initiative, for which the Netherlands provided €700 million in 2025, as well as the further development of the Logistic Lockdown programme through the scaling up of middle-strike operations.

Mykhailo Fedorov also met with representatives of the Dutch Parliament.

The Minister of Defence of Ukraine thanked Dutch parliamentarians for their support for Ukraine and for the funding being directed towards key defence needs. Importantly, this effective support is delivering tangible results. Mykhailo Fedorov also highlighted support for Ukraine’s air capabilities, particularly F-16 fighter aircraft, which are helping intercept cruise missiles.

During the meeting, the Minister of Defence outlined progress in implementing the Air-Land-Economy strategy.

The Defence Forces of Ukraine are gaining the initiative across all domains. This opens a window of opportunity to intensify pressure on russia over the coming months.

Among Ukraine’s key priorities is the continuation of PURL support, particularly to enable the acquisition of PAC-3 missiles and other air defence capabilities. Ukrainian drones and missiles, as well as extended-range munitions, also remain critically important.

Mykhailo Fedorov thanked the Netherlands for supporting PURL, supplying munitions for Patriot systems, and funding the Drone Line initiative, one of the most effective projects on the battlefield.

The Minister of Defence also called on partners to expand funding for Ukrainian production. Ukraine and the Netherlands already have industrial cooperation that strengthens both countries. It is important to scale up this win-win partnership.

Mykhailo Fedorov called for additional funding to be directed towards priority defence projects as quickly as possible. This would help Ukraine make the most of the current window of opportunity, increase pressure on russia, and advance the prospects for a just peace.

The Minister of Defence of Ukraine also visited TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research.

Together with Dutch State Secretary for Defence Derk Boswijk and representatives of TNO, he was briefed on the organisation’s capabilities. TNO is one of the largest R&D centres in Europe and maintains close cooperation with the Netherlands Armed Forces.

The organisation is already developing cooperation with Ukraine and drawing lessons from modern warfare, including through its collaboration with the Brave1 defence innovation cluster.

During the visit, the Ukrainian delegation was introduced to solutions developed by Dutch companies.

These included unmanned technologies, counter-drone systems, sensors, and other defence solutions.

Mykhailo Fedorov also proposed that partners test weapons and innovative solutions in Ukraine through the Test in Ukraine initiative. This format makes it possible to quickly validate solutions in the conditions of modern warfare, gather feedback from the Defence Forces, and enhance technologies based on real-world combat experience.