The VVD faction in the House of Representatives wants to know from Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoekstra about the security risks for the Dutch in Ukraine and whether preparations are being made for a possible evacuation.
“Russia’s military threat against Ukraine is becoming increasingly serious,” writes VVD MP Brekelmans on Twitter. “The #VS therefore advises to reconsider all trips to Ukraine,” says the MP. He states that code orange still applies to the Netherlands for most of Ukraine. The advice is then to go to such a country only for work or special family circumstances. “This must be sharper, we must not be naive,” he writes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not want to prejudge parliamentary questions from the VVD and any changes to the travel advice.
Within a week
Russia has gathered some 100,000 heavily armed soldiers on the border with Ukraine and hints at war. Talks with the US and NATO over the past week have been fruitless. Russia is demanding guarantees within a week that Ukraine or other former Soviet states will not join NATO and that the alliance will not station military or weapons in those countries. “Our patience has run out”, said Russian Minister Lavrov from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Friday. The West has rejected the Russian demands.
President Putin said earlier that Russia will respond “militarily-technically” if guarantees are not forthcoming. When asked what exactly that means, Lavrov said on Friday that Putin’s answer will depend on the advice he gets from military experts.
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