Vice Minister of National Defence Tomas Godliauskas paid a visit to Ukraine last week where he had meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Defence, Civil-Military Administration of Odessa, State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, Armed Forces of Ukraine and Civilian Recruitment Centres. Vice Minister also toured fortifications of the City of Odessa and means of countermobility positioned in the city, as well as shelters for city residents and the Civil Safety Centre of Odessa.
Mobilization in Ukraine, cyber security, disinformation, total defence, city fortification, countermobility and civil safety where in the focus of Vice Minister’s visit. “We aim not just to support Ukraine with everything possible but also to learn from its invaluable lessons of the ongoing war. This enables Lithuania to prepare for threats better and to ration the necessary resources purposefully, as well as to stock the right means of countermobility and prepare for fortification of cities on the basis of Ukraine’s experience. An effective total defence and all-round preparedness of the citizens is a steadfast foundation of deterrence,” underscored Vice Minister T. Godliauskas.
Meeting with Deputy Ministers of Defence Lt Gen Yevhen Moysiuk and Kateryna Chernohorenko, Vice Minister T. Godliauskas exchanged experience on defence capability development. Vice Ministers discussed organisation of mobilization, personnel training and education, and digital technology systems integrated in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They also addressed unmanned aerial vehicle operation, cyber security and counter-disinformation.
In the meeting with representatives of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine Vice Minister T. Godliauskas was briefed on the national cyber security framework of Ukraine, coordination mechanisms of critical infrastructure security, and activity of the Service. Cybersecurity challenges and infrastructure security were among the most important discussion points. The Ukrainian side presented to the visitors the protections used to guard national infrastructure against destructive attacks.
Leaders of the Civil-Military Administration of Odessa briefed the Lithuanian delegation on the responsibilities of Administration, the process of territorial governance, elements of territorial defence organisation that proved effective, and lessons learned.
Representatives of military and civilian recruitments centers of Ukraine familiarized Vice Minister T. Godliauskas with the specific of the draft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and civilian employment in the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Also, solutions to ensure a swift recruitment of competencies required in the Armed Forces were shared.
T. Godliauskas expressed a staunch solidarity with Ukraine and underscored the intention to continue expanding and strengthening cooperation, as well as concrete actions to improve the efficiency of the partnership in cyber security and critical infrastructure protection.
“Transfer of Ukraine’s lessons learned is key to a successful readiness of the state and society against future threats,” said T. Godliauskas summarizing and noted that the visit highlighted the close inter-institutional ties between Lithuania and Ukraine as much as the shared dedication to be partners.
