Netherlands says it has exhausted its capacity for military aid to Ukraine

Netherlands Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zeegerius has said that the country can no longer provide Ukraine with additional direct military aid, as it has already done everything it can.

She made the statement in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

According to the minister, The Hague now intends to urge other countries to step up their support for Ukraine.

“As the Netherlands, we no longer have the capacity, because we have already done a great deal,” Yeşilgöz-Zeegerius said.

Responding to a question about Kyiv’s new requests for Patriot air defense missile systems, the minister also stated: “We have reached our limit.”

According to Dutch government data, the total volume of actual and planned aid to Ukraine amounts to €25.9 billion. Of that sum, €20.7 billion is for military support and €5.1 billion for non-military assistance. The country has already spent €9.1 billion on military aid to Ukraine, with a further €11.6 billion planned for allocation in 2026–2031.

In early July, Reuters reported that Ukraine had asked the European Union for an additional €6.6 billion in military aid. According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Kyiv’s total defense funding needs for 2026 are estimated at approximately €136 billion, while the Ukrainian budget covers only around €53 billion.

Russian authorities are demanding that Western countries stop providing military aid to Ukraine.