The far-right, whose leader opposes aid to Ukraine, won the Dutch elections

The far-right PVV party won the Dutch parliamentary elections, winning 37 of the 150 seats in the lower house of the Dutch parliament, which is significantly more than any other party.

The leader of the Dutch far right, Geert Wilders, ran on anti-Islamic, anti-immigration and anti-European rhetoric, has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past and supports the termination of military aid to Ukraine.

Source. This was reported by The Moscow Times.

The party's official website makes no mention of Russia, except to say that the Netherlands should prepare for a "tsunami of fortune seekers" in Europe, partly because "the Russian aggressor has illegally invaded Ukraine."

However, it also says that the PVV will not send Ukraine money or the promised F16 fighter jets.

In October 2023, the Dutch publication Follow the Money published an investigation according to which PVV party members participated in propaganda events and visits to Russia, funded and organized by State Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky.

The trips were paid for by his "Russian Peace Foundation," whose board also includes Patriarch Kirill.

Wilders himself traveled to Moscow in 2018 for a working visit. In an interview with the propaganda channel RT, he called Putin "a leader, no matter what you think of him," saying that he "applauds" him for "defending the interests of the Russian people."

Earlier, the Netherlands, along with Denmark, led the effort to supply Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Netherlands has done a lot for Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Mark Rutte's government called for the most stringent sanctions against Russia and Putin.

In total, the Netherlands, according to The Babel, has provided Ukraine with almost €2.5 billion in military aid and €1 billion in financial assistance. The Rutte government has promised another €2 billion in military aid to Ukraine for the next year. The key part of it is the transfer of 42 F-16 aircraft.

Wilders' victory calls this into question. He has always spoken favorably of Russia and criticized sanctions against it. In 2018, Wilders even posted on Twitter a photo of his jacket with a badge of the united flags of Russia and the Netherlands.

One of the points of the Freedom Party's program is to ban the supply of weapons abroad, including to Ukraine.

"At a time when our armed forces are no longer able to control their own territory, we are sending scarce equipment to Ukraine. Our national defense is seriously weakened because the government considers foreign countries more important than our own country," the program says.

Wilders also opposes Ukraine's membership in NATO and the EU.

However, a coalition of 75 MPs is needed to form a government. Wilders' party does not have that many, so they need to unite with their opponents. Moreover, after the victory, his rhetoric softened. He has already stated that he will not close mosques, as he promised, because he realizes that this is not the right time. And he admits that he may abandon the referendum on leaving the EU.