Armored howitzers of the Royal Netherlands Army. Photo: ANP
The Netherlands and Germany will supply armored howitzers to Ukraine to help the country in the fight against the Russians.
Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said after the Council of Ministers that the consultations with the Germans about this are in a concluding phase. She is optimistic that it will work.
Heaviest artillery army
Ukraine has asked for the armored howitzers, the army’s heaviest guns, capable of hitting targets 40 to 50 kilometers away. Earlier this week, the cabinet announced that the Netherlands would be supplying heavier equipment. Mark Rutte added that it is still being examined with allies whether more weaponry can go in that direction.
Ollongren did not yet say how many armored howitzers are involved, but only said that they are “a limited number”. She hopes to clarify this next week. She points out that this is an advanced weapon system that cannot be used just like that. This requires training first.
Division of tasks still unclear
It is not yet clear how the division of labor will be between the two countries. For example, the Netherlands could supply the equipment and Germany, for example, could take care of the training. That too is still under discussion, Ollongren said.
The Netherlands has a total of 54 armored howitzers.