The government reserves more than 2.5 billion euros to support Ukraine, but that money does not come from the defense ministry’s budget. Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told political journalist Mats Akkerman.
According to Ollongren, the money is intended to continue military supplies and training, as well as provide much-needed humanitarian aid. “The most important thing is that we have now decided to make this reserve at the front, because we assume that Ukraine will continue to need the support.”
Prime Minister Rutte agrees with this stance: ‘If the war ends quickly, you won’t need all that 2.5 billion, but we assume you don’t. We want to create that peace by calendar year 2023. But we have no plans an end date.’
The €2.5 billion would be good for one-sixth of the entire defense budget, but it doesn’t come entirely from that budget. “Just like the deliveries we’ve made so far, the amount is financed differently,” Ollongren continues. ‘So it’s not at the expense of the defense budget, but it’s coming from the treasury. We think it is important to remain in solidarity with Ukraine and that Russian aggression is not rewarded. Ukraine can only win this war with our help.’
Timeline
And that could take some time, thinks Ollongren. He points out that the exact timeline of the war remains uncertain. “You’d rather the war ended, the sooner the better,” he says. “But we still don’t see any signs of it. Putin is determined to continue with this pointless war, which is also not going well militarily for Russia. So we have to take into account that the war might go on for a while, that’s why we have planned it now.’
He won’t comment on the exact spending, though he admits that most of the aid package will be spent on weapons, training, “and stuff like that.” “We will fully tailor it to Ukrainian needs and work with partner countries and industry to ensure the flow of supplies can continue.”
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
