Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has announced agreements with Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans on further strengthening defence cooperation, particularly in the areas of drones, air defence and aviation.
Fedorov wrote about this on social media. According to him, the Netherlands remains a strategic partner for Ukraine in developing and scaling defence technologies and continues to provide consistent support across key areas.
During the talks, the parties discussed the Drone Line initiative launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The project brings together leading unmanned systems units which, according to the minister, already destroy around a quarter of all targets on the frontline each month. The initiative has been implemented with active support from the Netherlands, which allocated about 800 million euros for the programme in 2025.
Particular attention was paid to strengthening air defence. Fedorov highlighted the Netherlands’ role in the PURL initiative, under which PAC-3 missiles and ammunition for F-16 fighter jets have been supplied to Ukraine and are already being used to protect the country’s airspace during Russian attacks. Ukraine expects this support to continue.
The development of drones and production was also discussed within the Build with Ukraine initiative, which enables foreign defence companies to establish manufacturing facilities in Ukraine. According to Fedorov, Ukraine and the Netherlands are consistently moving forward with the launch of joint production of Ukrainian drones in the Netherlands.
Another area of cooperation concerns aviation. The sides agreed to exchange expertise between their teams to improve the effectiveness of F-16 use both for air defence and for strike operations. They also discussed the localisation and acceleration of repairs of Robin radars, the supply of AIM air defence missiles, and the provision of RUTA cruise missiles.
Fedorov thanked the Netherlands for its support, trust and constructive cooperation.