Nato to deliver more military aid to Ukraine after Dutch minister announces deal

Russia attacks on Ukraine have continued (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

Nato has started coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said it would provide air defence equipment, ammunition and other military aid worth €500m.

The equipment that will be provided is based on Ukraine’s priority needs on the battlefield. Nato allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on.

“Packages will be prepared rapidly and issued on a regular basis,” a Nato spokesperson said.

Air defence systems are in greatest need, as the United Nations said that Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.

American air defence systems and munitions, in particular, are crucial for Ukraine to defend itself

Russia’s bigger army is also making slow but costly progress along the 620-mile front line. Currently, it is waging an operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a logistical hub whose fall could allow it to drive deeper into Ukraine.

European allies and Canada are buying most of the equipment which they plan to send from the United States, which has greater stocks of military material, as well as more effective weapons. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine.

The new deliveries will come on top of other pledges of military equipment.

The Kiel Institute, which tracks support to Ukraine, estimates that as of June, European countries had provided 72 billion euros (£63bn) worth of military aid since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, compared to €65bn in US aid.

Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said that “American air defence systems and munitions, in particular, are crucial for Ukraine to defend itself”.

Announcing the deliveries on Monday, he said Russia’s attacks are “pure terror, intended to break Ukraine”.

Germany said on Friday that it will deliver two more Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine in the coming days.

It agreed to the move after securing assurances that the US will prioritise the delivery of new Patriots to Germany to backfill its stocks. These weapon systems are only made in the US.