Some people in the Netherlands might see the transportation of military equipment around the country in the coming weeks. So what exactly is happening?
According to the NOS, this movement has to do with the situation in Ukraine.
Requests from NATO
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says NATO asked the Netherlands for combat aircraft. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren confirmed fighter jets already took off from Leeuwarden earlier today.
NATO also requested Dutch military movement in the coming weeks. Minister Ollongren clarified that NATO is a “defensive organisation” and the movement of the military is about “being ready” to take action in a NATO context.
Increasing preparation
A spokesperson for the Dutch army said troops and equipment will be moved for training exercises. Dutch units of the NATO response force are also ready to decrease response times.
The Netherlands is also a very important transit point for other NATO members such as the US, the UK, and Canada. If such members decided to deploy equipment and troops into mainland Europe, they would go through the Netherlands.
Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam also announced this morning that the Port of Rotterdam could play an even greater role in the transports, including the shipment of tanks.
In that case, the Minister of Defense and Minister of Justice would take authority of that area of the port.
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If you’re moving Hawker Hunters, from the 1950’s, I don’t think Mad Vlad is going to be very scared… Surely there are images of something more modern you could use to illustrate this article?