Ukraine war: In rare visit to Kharkiv, Netherlands PM signs security deal with Kyiv

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a 10 year security deal with Ukraine in Kharkiv on Friday (March 1), becoming the seventh Western leader to sign a security agreement with the war-torn country.

Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, France, and Denmark have signed bilateral security deals with Ukraine over the past two months.

According to a report by the news agency Reuters, Prime Minister Rutte told reporters that his government would contribute to the Czech Republic’s initiative to purchase 800,000 artillery shells.

In February, the Czech Republic said it had sourced 500,000 rounds of 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm rounds from other countries, which could be delivered to Ukraine in weeks if funding was secured. Rutte told reporters that the Netherlands would donate $162 million (150 million euros) to the Czech initiative, taking the total to $271 million.

The security deal with Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the Netherlands’ security deal with Ukraine included $2.2 billion in military aid from Amsterdam this year as well as other defence assistance over the next 10 years.

“Today, Mark Rutte and I signed a bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and the Netherlands,” Zelensky said in a post on social media.

A rare visit to Kharkiv

Rutte’s visit to Kharkiv was a rare one by a senior Western leader as the city is regularly attacked by Russian air strikes and is much closer to the Russian border than Kyiv, Reuters reported.