WASHINGTON (AP) — As the United State begins training of Ukrainian Troops in Oklahoma, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday that his country plans to "join” the U.S. and Germany's efforts to train and arm Ukraine with advanced Patriot defense systems.
Rutte signaled the Netherlands' intentions at the start of a White House meeting with President Joe Biden. It remains unclear if the Dutch will ultimately send Patriot systems, take part in training or offer some other assistance related to deployment of Patriots. The Dutch defense ministry said that Ukraine has asked the Netherlands to provide “Patriot capacity.”
“We have the intention to join what you are doing with Germany on the Patriot project," Rutte told Biden. “I think that it’s important we join that."
Rutte, who said he also spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday about the potential assistance, later told Dutch broadcaster NOS that his government is in talks about what exactly it can contribute.
“The idea is not only training, but also equipment,” Rutte told NOS. He added that the Dutch military is now reviewing “what exactly we have, how can we ensure that it works well with the American and German systems.”
Rutte spoke about the potential assistance as Ukrainian troops arrived at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill Army base to begin training on operating and maintaining the Patriot missile defense system. The Patriot is the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the West has provided to Ukraine to help repel Russian aerial attacks.
“Training has begun," Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. "As we’ve talked about before, that training will last for several months, and train upwards of 90 to 100 Ukrainians on use of the Patriot missile system.”
Biden praised Netherlands as one of the United States “strongest” allies, one that's proven “very, very stalwart” in its support for Ukraine since Russia launched in its invasion in February. The Netherlands has committed about $2.7 billion (2.5 billion euros) in support for Ukraine this year. The money will be spent on military equipment, humanitarian and diplomatic efforts.
The Netherlands providing Ukraine with Patriot assistance — whether the weapons systems, missiles or training — would be a major move for the NATO ally.
The training of Ukraine forces now underway in Oklahoma is to focus, in part, on how to maintain the battery that will be sent by the U.S. to Ukraine once training is complete. Each system has multiple components, including a phased array radar, a control station, computers and generators, and typically requires about 90 soldiers to operate and maintain, however only three soldiers are needed to actually fire it, according to the Army.
Some of the ongoing maintenance support, once the Patriot is on the battlefield, will be done remotely, Ryder said.
The Dutch prime minister, for his part, praised Biden for leading the international effort to back Ukraine.
“I am convinced history will judge in 2022 if the United States had not stepped up like you did things would have been very different,” Rutte said.
The two leaders were also to discuss plans for the Summit for Democracy, which they are co-hosting with Costa Rica, South Korea and Zambia in late March.
Biden hosted the inaugural democracy summit in December 2021, which the administration billed as the start of a global conversation about how best to halt the backsliding of democracy.
Biden is the third U.S. president visited by Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest-serving prime minister. He earlier met with Barack Obama and Donald Trump.