Netherlands To Supply Ukraine With 5 Self-Propelled Howitzers - Defense Minister

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 13, 2022 | 07:02 PM

The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with five self-propelled howitzers and Germany will supply another seven, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a letter to the Dutch lower house on Friday

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2022) The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with five self-propelled howitzers and Germany will supply another seven, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a letter to the Dutch lower house on Friday.

"The cabinet has recently informed the house of representatives about a possible delivery of armored howitzers in cooperation with Germany ... substantially, we are talking about 12 self-propelled artillery installations, five of which will be supplied by the Netherlands, and seven by Germany," the letter read.

Amsterdam has also sent over 102 million Euros ($105.8 million) worth of military aid to Kiev, according to the letter.

Earlier in May, the German cabinet announced it would send Ukraine seven 155 mm self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine from Berlin's weapons stockpiles despite concerns that only 40 machines of its 200-piece arsenal are combat-ready.

On Wednesday, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said that Ukrainian soldiers already started receiving training in Germany to operate the Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers.

Since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the United States, the European Union and several countries outside the bloc have been supplying Ukraine with billions of Dollars in lethal weaponry, including heavy arms such as anti-tank missiles, fighter jets, missile systems and armored vehicles. The Netherlands promised to send Stinger air defense rockets and 50 Panzerfaust-3 anti-tank weapons with 400 rockets.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that any shipments to Ukraine containing arms might be treated as a legitimate target for Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed these statements, adding that the continuous flow of Western weapons to Ukraine is hampering negotiation process.