Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) is in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Monday. It is the first time since the start of the war that Rutte is in Ukraine. With his visit, he mainly wants to show support for the Ukrainian people and the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he will have a meeting later in the day.
Against RTL News Rutte says that he only really feels how bad the war is on the spot. „The photos are also very impressive, but here you can hear the stories, see the buildings that have been completely destroyed in Irpin (…) That is terrible. People who had to flee for their lives and leave everything behind. You can only feel that by being here yourself.” Rutte says that he experiences even more on the spot how important it is that the West and the Netherlands help Ukraine. “It’s about civilization, it’s about what we stand for.”
In addition to Kiev, Rutte also visits the suburbs of Borodyanka, Butja and Irpin. He will hold a press conference after meeting Zelensky. The conversation will be about Dutch support for the country. The Netherlands has so far supplied over 172 million euros worth of military goods to Ukraine.
With his visit, Rutte follows other European government leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs, CDA) also visited the country earlier. In February, just a few weeks before the war broke out, Rutte and Hoekstra visited Ukraine together.
This article is also part of our live blog: Nord Stream I gas pipeline closed for maintenance