Netherlands emerges as one of Ukraine’s leading partners in drone support – Ambassador
He said this in an interview with Ukrinform.
“The Netherlands is financing the procurement of Ukrainian UAVs of various types in very substantial volumes. A vivid example is the Dutch contribution to the DroneLine initiative, under which the Netherlands funded the production of nearly 1 million FPV drones. There are also many other areas of Dutch assistance related to UAVs, but it is not appropriate to speak publicly about them. Overall, it should be emphasized that the Netherlands is one of the best partner countries in ensuring our needs for unmanned systems,” he said.
According to him, “the most advanced and effective drones today are manufactured by Ukraine. No one in the world, except Ukraine, has such a level of expertise, technology, and experience in the UAV field that has already been proven over time and in combat operations. Therefore, the need for assistance in drone-related technologies is mutual. Ukraine is currently interested in increasing the production volumes of domestically produced unmanned systems of all types: aerial, ground, and maritime. That is precisely why Ukraine launched the ‘Build with Ukraine’ project, which aims to expand the production capabilities of the Ukrainian defense industry with the participation of partners from the EU and NATO, in particular by organizing the production of Ukrainian weapons on the territory of partner countries and with the involvement of defense industry enterprises from partner states.”
He also noted that joint production helps Ukraine expand its own manufacturing potential and reduce dependence on individual suppliers or external manufacturers.
“We are grateful to the Netherlands for its readiness to participate in the joint production of Ukrainian UAVs, which will ensure additional deliveries to the front line and help our Armed Forces repel Russian aggression. I would like to highlight the signing by the defense ministers of Ukraine and the Netherlands of an agreement on the joint production of unmanned systems on December 1, 2025,” he said.
Kostin emphasized that the Netherlands continues to play an important role in supporting Ukraine.
“It is necessary to note the Netherlands’ leadership role in the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) initiative. This is a U.S.- and NATO-launched initiative aimed at providing Ukraine with critically important U.S.-made weapons and equipment. On August 4, 2025, the Netherlands was the first to announce a contribution of €500 million, and on December 1, 2025, it made an additional contribution of €250 million,” he said.
As reported by Ukrinform, the Netherlands plans to allocate more than €3 billion in military assistance to Ukraine in 2027–2029.
Photo: Lera Manzovitova
