Dutch PM Mark Rutte sets out 'intention' to send Patriots to Ukraine

Netherlands set to follow the US and Germany by sending air-defence missiles to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden, right, meets Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. AP

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met US President Joe Biden on Tuesday and signalled his “intention” to follow Germany in its delivery of American-made Patriot air-defence missiles to Ukraine.

“We have the intention to join what you're doing with Germany on the Patriots project, the air-defence system. I think that is important and we joined that,” Mr Rutte told Mr Biden at the White House.

He added that he had “discussed it also this morning” with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Germany announced on January 5 that it would follow the US in sending one of the advanced missile defence batteries to Ukraine.

Mr Rutte cited the “terrible footage” of an apartment building destroyed by a powerful Russian missile in the city of Dnipro on Saturday, saying the “these are horrible pictures and I think it strengthens even more our resolve to stay with Ukraine”.

Mr Biden praised the Dutch contribution to a US-led western alliance supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion and said: “Russia is continuing to act in ways that are almost unbelievable.”

The White House said that Mr Biden also talked by phone Tuesday with Mr Scholz, saying only they “discussed their steadfast support to Ukraine and condemned Russia's aggression”.

They also “discussed their ongoing assistance to Ukraine”, the White House said in a statement.

US Patriot missiles — in pictures

About 100 Ukrainian troops will head to Oklahoma’s Fort Sill to begin training on the Patriot missile defence system. Seen in the image is a US Army MIM-104 Patriot anti-missile defence launcher near Rzeszow, Poland, in 2022. Getty

Nato member countries have been flying military transport planes into Rzeszow on a regular basis following announcements that Poland would supply Ukrainian armed forces with weapons. Getty

The Ukrainian military is not trained in using sophisticated American weaponry such as mobile anti-aircraft batteries like the Patriot, so the US has supplied the S-300 anti-aircraft system as an alternative. AFP

Ukrainians know how to use the S-300 anti-aircraft system, a first-generation Russian competitor to the American Patriot, but will soon learn how to operate the Patriot through US training. AFP

Supplying Ukrainians with Patriot anti-missile defence launchers would be a major step in the global response to Russia's war in Ukraine. Getty

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested Patriot missile systems while fighting between the Russian military and Ukrainian armed forces continues. AFP

US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted Mr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington in December 2022. Bloomberg

Germany will follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Mr Biden said in a joint statement following talks on January 5. AFP

View of a German Patriot missile launcher at the Gazi barracks in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey in 2014. AFP

On Tuesday, Mr Scholz said he was in talks with allies over potentially supplying heavy tanks to Ukraine, but cautioned that any announcements would have to come in lockstep with others.

“I am always thinking about the situation,” Mr Scholz said in an interview on Tuesday.

“We always act together with our allies and friends — we never go alone.”

Mr Scholz has been under pressure from allies to send German-made heavy Leopard battle tanks to Kyiv in the event that fighting intensifies in the spring.

The Chancellor has been criticised for his cautiousness in holding back from supplying heavy weapons, arguing that would risk provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin into escalating the conflict.

He won some respite earlier this month with an agreement to send 40 Marder combat vehicles and a Patriot air-defence system to Ukraine as part of a joint announcement with the US, yet the calls for more powerful Leopard tanks have continued.

“We are supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary with all the means that we can use,” Mr Scholz said He added that the aim is to “avoid that this is going to be a war between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation”.

Drones and weapons supplied to Ukraine — in pictures

Turkeysold its Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to Ukraine. They can fly at an altitude of 7,500 metres and swoop down to attack targets. AFP

The US also gave 700 of its Switchblade kamikaze drones. AP

Cheap commercial drones like the DJI Mavic series have been modified in Ukraine. AFP

Germany will follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system, pictured above, to Ukraine. Reuters

FIM-92 Stinger rockets have been donated to help Ukrainian infantry engage aircraft and drones. The shoulder-launched missiles can shoot down aircraft. Photo: US Army

Germany donated 25 Flakpanzer Gepard all-weather-capable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. AFP

The High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, can simultaneously launch several precision-guided missiles. The US has given Ukraine projectiles with a range of about 130 kilometres. EPA

M777 howitzers and about 300,000 shells have been donated to give Ukraine an accurate artillery platform with a range of 50 kilometres. EPA

Ukraine has been sent at least 5,000 of the anti-tank weapons known as NLAWs. These shoulder-launched rockets have proved deadly in the field. PA

Ukrainian troops have also received thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles. Bloomberg

Poland and the Czech Republic sent Russian-made T72 tanks, which Ukraine has used for decades, to ease integration and cut down training time. EPA

France as announced its plan to give AMX-10 RC “scout tanks” to Ukraine. "This is the first time that western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," a French official said. AFP

Shortly after the French, the US said it would send Bradley fighting vehicles to provide "a level of firepower and armour that would bring advantages on the battlefield”. Reuters

The UK sent their phased-out Saxon armoured vehicles. They found new life protecting infantry units in transit and dealing with tough off-road conditions. Getty Images

Denmark has supplied Harpoon anti-ship launchers to help Ukraine defend its coasts. AFP

The US sent 20 Soviet and Russian made Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine that had initially been bought for the Afghan government in 2010. AP

Germany has also supplied its latest version of the IRIS-T air defence system designed to shoot down missiles at altitudes up to 20 kilometres. Getty Images

Ukraine has also been given thousands of small arms, bullet proof vests, medical kits, litres of fuel, granades and other weapons systems. Reuters

The UK on Saturday became the first country to confirm it would send its battle tanks to Ukraine, and European officials who deal with Berlin have said they expect Germany to follow suit in the near future.

The government is expected to make a decision on tanks before a meeting of senior defence officials from allied nations on Friday at the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany.

Mr Scholz emphasised that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine before any negotiations happen, and that Germany would support Kyiv for as long as necessary.

“I am very happy that the Ukrainian President [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] is ready for peace,” Mr Scholz said.

“Russia has to do something which they are as far as we see not ready to do and this is withdrawing troops — we are waiting for that.”

Russia and Ukraine conflict latest — in pictures

A tank, seen left, fires a round in Soledar, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Tank fire in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a Kharkiv fireworks storage site after it was struck by a Russian missile. Getty

Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, visits his troops on the frontline in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

A Ukrainian flag attached to a tank flutters in the wind in Bakhmut. Reuters

A specialist from an emergency crew works on a residential building in Donetsk that was damaged in recent shelling. Reuters

A missile fragment left by shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk. AP

Residents remove debris and carry their belongings out of a building destroyed by recent shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

Ukrainian forces fire an anti-aircraft weapon as Russia's attack on the frontline city of Bakhmut continues. Reuters

A car drives past a destroyed building purported to have been used as temporary accommodation for Russian soldiers, dozens of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Makiivka, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

The site of a temporary barracks for Russian soldiers in Makiivka, which was destroyed in a Ukrainian missile attack. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman carries his injured comrade from the battlefield to a hospital in the Donetsk region. AP

Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, the site of heavy battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk region. AP

Since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the German Chancellor abandoned Berlin’s postwar policy of not sending lethal weapons into combat zones and earmarked €100 billion ($108 billion) to modernise the armed forces on top of an increase in annual defence spending that is set to reach Nato’s target of 2 per cent of gross domestic product next year.

The government is in position to unlock dozens of German-made Leopard tanks for Ukraine, which could significantly boost Kyiv’s capabilities.

Twelve other European countries have Leopards in their arsenals, but they need Berlin’s approval before they can transfer the tanks.