Netherlands Will Not Stop Delivering Arms to Ukraine This Summer - Prime Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday that the Netherlands will not abandon arms deliveries to Ukraine this summer, "especially at this crucial juncture."

Dutch State Secretary of Defense Christophe van der Maat said last week that the Dutch military was reaching the limits of defense aid to Ukraine. Moreover, local media reported that the government's plan to provide self-propelled artillery systems to Kiev had sparked discontent among the kingdom's military.

"I spoke to @ZelenskyyUa about the grain deal and missile attacks on the ports of Odesa & Mykolaiv. The Netherlands continues to support Ukraine, especially at this crucial juncture. There will be no let-up in deliveries of Dutch military support this summer," Rutte tweeted after his phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Russia has voiced protest to NATO countries over the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed that all cargo that contains arms deliveries for Ukraine could become a target for Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that providing Kiev with Western arms does not contribute to the resolution of the Ukraine conflict and will only have negative consequences.