The Dutch government is acquiring seven hundred advanced cruise missiles for Ukraine, capable of reaching targets beyond Moscow. The order, valued at 250 million euros, was described by Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD) during a press conference in The Hague last week as an investment in “drones.” However, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov later clarified that it pertains to “cruise missiles.”
An investigation by NRC revealed that these missiles are produced by the company Destinus, based in Hengelo. The Ruta “Block 2” model is an upgraded version of the “Block 1” and has a range exceeding 700 kilometers. This cruise missile can carry an explosive payload of 250 kilograms, flies at low altitudes (several tens of meters), and employs artificial intelligence for target recognition. On its website, Destinus refers to the Ruta family as “cruise systems.”
Differences in wording and capabilities of Ruta
Last week, Minister Yeşilgöz hosted her Ukrainian counterpart Fedorov in The Hague. Both ministers also made a brief visit to the Destinus production facility in Hengelo, where Yeşilgöz presented Fedorov with a large-scale model of the Ruta “Block 2.” During the press conference, Yeşilgöz mentioned the purchase of “drones from the Dutch industry.” When asked, both ministers declined to specify the exact weapon systems. However, the following day, Fedorov stated after a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels that the Netherlands had announced “assistance in the form of seven hundred cruise missiles.”
Ruta has previously been supplied to Ukraine, confirmed a Ukrainian defense official to NRC, and is “widely used” for strikes on key strategic targets, including Russian command centers. The Ruta “Block 1” has a payload of 150 kilograms and a significantly shorter range of about 300 kilometers, leading to its classification as a “mini cruise missile” or “drone missile.” The “Block 2” version, which Destinus plans to put into production this year, can carry a larger payload and fly much farther, bringing it closer to the capabilities of cruise missiles like the American Tomahawk at a considerably lower cost. The upcoming Ruta “Block 3,” set for its first test flight next year, will boast a range of over two thousand kilometers. Last week, Destinus announced it had already produced one thousand T150 jet engines for the Ruta.
International context and Ukraine’s own developments
Various European allies, including Germany, have so far refrained from supplying Ukraine with cruise missiles due to concerns about potential escalation with Russia. For instance, former Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to provide the German-Swedish Taurus missile, fearing it could be used by Kyiv against targets in Russia, as was revealed in February 2024. Following criticism, he expressed concern that the weapon “if used incorrectly, could reach a specific target somewhere in Moscow.” Scholz’s successor Friedrich Merz has also yet to grant permission. The Taurus, developed by a joint venture between the German division of European missile manufacturer MBDA and Swedish Saab Bofors Dynamics, has a range exceeding five hundred kilometers. Ukraine has sought long-range weapons for strikes on Russian military targets deep within the country, such as airbases and arms factories.
France and the United Kingdom have supplied Ukraine with several hundred MBDA Storm Shadow/Scalp cruise missiles in recent years, which have a range of about 250 kilometers. Ukraine has actively utilized these missiles to target Russian positions in Crimea and other occupied areas. From the end of 2024, Kyiv received permission to use these missiles against military targets in Russia as well. However, the Netherlands has never imposed geographical restrictions, provided Ukraine adheres to humanitarian law (which prohibits attacks on civilian targets), as stated last week by Dutch Colonel Simon Wood in an interview with NRC.
Throughout the conflict, Ukraine has also developed its own cruise vehicles, regularly targeting sites in Russia, such as the “Neptune,” originally an anti-ship missile. The latest of these systems, the FP-5 Flamingo, according to the manufacturer Fire Point, has a range of three thousand kilometers. In addition to daily drone strikes on strategic Russian targets, Ukraine frequently conducts attacks with cruise vehicles. For instance, this week, Kyiv reported that a semiconductor plant in the Russian city of Voronezh was struck, likely by cruise missiles.
The Dutch Ministry of Defense stated that for “operational security reasons,” it could not comment on the “exact content, quantity, and specifications” of supplies to Ukraine. According to the Ministry, Dutch support in the area of drones is “very broad”: “The wording that the Ministry of Defense used last week does not differ from previous communications.”
Source: NRC