The Netherlands on Monday said it would contribute 500 million euros (US$577 million) to purchase US military equipment for Ukraine, becoming the first NATO country to contribute to a new mechanism to supply Kyiv with weapons.
US President Donald Trump last month said that the US would provide weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but he did not provide details on how it would work.
“As the first NATO ally, the Netherlands will deliver a 500 million [euros] package of US weapon systems [including Patriot parts and missiles],” Dutch Minister of Defense Ruben Brekelmans said in a social media post.
Photo: Reuters
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, welcomed the announcement and said he has encouraged other alliance members to participate in the new mechanism, called the NATO Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List initiative.
“This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,” Rutte said in a statement. “I have written to all NATO Allies, urging them to contribute towards this burden sharing initiative, and I expect further significant announcements from other Allies soon.”
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker on Monday said that he expected many more nations to announce over the coming weeks that they would participate.
“We’re moving as fast as possible,” Whitaker said in an interview at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Asked about a timeline for getting US deliveries to Ukraine under the new mechanism, he said: “I think we’ll see it moving very quickly, certainly in the coming weeks, but some even sooner than that.”
NATO said it would coordinate the new initiative, which is funded by European members of the alliance and Canada, and would be divided into packages of approximately US$500 million.
“Working closely with Ukraine and the United States, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich will validate packages that correspond to Ukraine’s needs, such as air defense, ammunition and other critical equipment for rapid delivery from US stockpiles,” NATO said in a statement.
In the sweltering streets of Jakarta, buskers carry towering, hollow puppets and pass around a bucket for donations. Now, they fear becoming outlaws. City authorities said they would crack down on use of the sacred ondel-ondel puppets, which can stand as tall as a truck, and they are drafting legislation to remove what they view as a street nuisance. Performances featuring the puppets — originally used by Jakarta’s Betawi people to ward off evil spirits — would be allowed only at set events. The ban could leave many ondel-ondel buskers in Jakarta jobless. “I am confused and anxious. I fear getting raided or even
Eleven people, including a former minister, were arrested in Serbia on Friday over a train station disaster in which 16 people died. The concrete canopy of the newly renovated station in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed on Nov. 1, 2024 in a disaster widely blamed on corruption and poor oversight. It sparked a wave of student-led protests and led to the resignation of then-Serbian prime minister Milos Vucevic and the fall of his government. The public prosecutor’s office in Novi Sad opened an investigation into the accident and deaths. In February, the public prosecutor’s office for organized crime opened another probe into
RISING RACISM: A Japanese group called on China to assure safety in the country, while the Chinese embassy in Tokyo urged action against a ‘surge in xenophobia’ A Japanese woman living in China was attacked and injured by a man in a subway station in Suzhou, China, Japanese media said, hours after two Chinese men were seriously injured in violence in Tokyo. The attacks on Thursday raised concern about xenophobic sentiment in China and Japan that have been blamed for assaults in both countries. It was the third attack involving Japanese living in China since last year. In the two previous cases in China, Chinese authorities have insisted they were isolated incidents. Japanese broadcaster NHK did not identify the woman injured in Suzhou by name, but, citing the Japanese
RESTRUCTURE: Myanmar’s military has ended emergency rule and announced plans for elections in December, but critics said the move aims to entrench junta control Myanmar’s military government announced on Thursday that it was ending the state of emergency declared after it seized power in 2021 and would restructure administrative bodies to prepare for the new election at the end of the year. However, the polls planned for an unspecified date in December face serious obstacles, including a civil war raging over most of the country and pledges by opponents of the military rule to derail the election because they believe it can be neither free nor fair. Under the restructuring, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is giving up two posts, but would stay at the
RSS