Dutch say tight defense market leaves €750M of Ukraine aid unspent

PARIS — The Netherlands won’t be able to spend €750 million (US$790 million) of military aid planned for Ukraine this year because of the tight global market for defense equipment, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.

Military aid for Ukraine has shifted from equipment supplied from stockpiles at the start of the country’s fight against invading Russian forces, to newly produced equipment now, Brekelmans said in a letter to the Dutch parliament on Tuesday. The international defense industry is “doubly burdened” by demand from countries that seek to bolster their own militaries as well as provide support Ukraine, which is impacting delivery schedules, the minister said.

The Netherlands pays for equipment upon delivery, and is no longer able to realize €750 million euros of planned military aid this year, Brekelmans said. The unspent funds will be transferred to the 2025 defense budget, and will remain destined to providing support for Ukraine.

“The funds are thus not lost and the planned destination remains unchanged,” Brekelmans said.

The Ukrainian defense industry faces the same tight market, according to the Dutch minister. While local defense firms would benefit from significant investments, which is something the Netherlands is working on, Ukraine doesn’t have significant amounts of equipment available that can be delivered this year, he said.

The Netherlands has pledged €10.4 billion in military support to Ukraine, of which €9.5 billion has either been realized, legally committed, or is being negotiated with partners and suppliers in preparation of an agreement, Brekelmans said.

The country has plans for the remaining €970 million, aimed at fulfilling urgent needs of Ukraine, mainly in the short term, he said.

”Incidentally, a significant portion of this remaining budget will be used to purchase equipment directly from the Ukrainian defense industry,” Brekelmans told parliament. “While these plans are not yet in the execution phase, new changes would delay the delivery of urgent military support.”

The Dutch government coalition has agreed to continue to actively support Ukraine “politically, militarily, financially and morally.”

Countries across Europe have been boosting their defense budgets following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and spending by European Union countries on equipment is forecast to climb to €90 billion this year from €61 billion in 2023, according to the European Defence Agency.

EU countries are buying more weapons to replenish stocks depleted by providing military aid to Ukraine, address capability gaps and increase preparedness for high-intensity conflict, the EDA said in a report on Wednesday. European suppliers of military hardware such as KNDS, Rheinmetall, Saab and MBDA have all reported record order books.

Dutch military support to Ukraine includes 24 F-16 fighters, a Patriot air-defense system, main battle tanks including 14 Leopard 2A4s, hundreds of YPR tracked armored personal carriers and two mine-hunting vessels.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——荷兰国防部长鲁本·布雷克尔曼斯表示，由于全球国防装备市场紧张，荷兰今年将无法动用原计划向乌克兰提供的7.5亿欧元（7.9亿美元）军事援助。

布雷克尔曼斯周二在致荷兰议会的一封信中表示，对乌克兰的军事援助已从该国对抗俄罗斯入侵军队之初使用的库存装备，转变为目前新生产的装备。这位部长指出，国际国防工业正面临“双重压力”，一方面是各国寻求加强自身军事实力，另一方面又是向乌克兰提供援助，这影响了交付进度。

布雷克尔曼斯表示，荷兰在装备交付后才付款，因此今年无法兑现原计划的7.5亿欧元军事援助。这笔未使用的资金将转入2025年国防预算，并将继续用于支持乌克兰。

“因此，资金不会损失，计划的用途也保持不变，”布雷克尔曼斯说。

这位荷兰部长表示，乌克兰国防工业也面临着同样的市场紧缩问题。他指出，虽然当地国防企业将受益于大量投资（荷兰正在努力促成此事），但乌克兰目前没有足够的装备可以在今年交付。

布雷克尔曼斯表示，荷兰已承诺向乌克兰提供 104 亿欧元的军事援助，其中 95 亿欧元已经落实、依法承诺或正在与合作伙伴和供应商进行谈判，以准备达成协议。

他说，该国已制定剩余 9.7 亿欧元的用途计划，旨在满足乌克兰的迫切需求，主要是在短期内。

布雷克尔曼斯向议会表示：“顺便一提，剩余预算中的相当一部分将用于直接从乌克兰国防工业采购装备。虽然这些计划尚未进入执行阶段，但新的变动将会延误紧急军事援助的交付。”

荷兰政府联盟已同意继续在“政治、军事、财政和道义上”积极支持乌克兰。

据欧洲防务局预测，在俄罗斯侵略乌克兰之后，欧洲各国纷纷增加了国防预算，欧盟国家在国防装备上的支出预计将从 2023 年的 610 亿欧元攀升至今年的 900 亿欧元。

欧洲防务局（EDA）周三发布的一份报告称，欧盟各国正在增购武器，以补充因向乌克兰提供军事援助而消耗的库存，弥补能力缺口，并提高应对高强度冲突的准备程度。包括KNDS、莱茵金属、萨博和MBDA在内的欧洲军工供应商均报告称，​​订单量创下历史新高。

荷兰对乌克兰的军事支持包括 24 架 F-16 战斗机、一套爱国者防空系统、包括 14 辆豹 2A4 在内的主战坦克、数百辆 YPR 履带式装甲运兵车和两艘扫雷艇。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。