Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas is conducting a visit to Kyiv where he has met with Minister of Defence of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and other officials of the country. The meeting primarily revolved around Lithuanian’s assistance to Ukraine and the most pressing current issues to Ukraine.
“Minister R. Umerov and I have discussed military aid to Ukraine, situation on the frontlines, the types of assistance needed the most at the moment and if there was anything else we could do. Lithuania is rendering uninterrupted assistance to Ukraine and we are not stopping. Just last week, Ukraine received a shipment of mortar mines, power generators and other assistance from Lithuania, with thermal imagers, drones and other equipment virtual on the battlefield on a daily basis about to be dispatched shortly,” said Minister of National Defence L. Kasčiūnas.
Since the start of the war of aggression, Lithuania has rendered Ukraine military assistance worth of over EUR 705 million. Lithuania’s overall support to Ukraine for the long-haul has exceeded EUR 1 billion so far.
Other themes addressed at the meeting were Lithuania’s ongoing drone development programme and Lithuania learning from Ukraine’s expertise and lessons learned, as well as the aim to develop drone industry capabilities. Lithuania has allocated additional EUR 10 million for acquiring different type of drones from Lithuanian manufacturers for Ukraine next year.
Also, Lithuania plans dedicating EUR 30 million for the Demining Coalition next year, as well as to contribute to the continued artillery initiative of the Czech Republic and invest in Ukraine’s defence industry. Lithuania and Ukraine collaborate on countermobility which helps Lithuania learn from Ukraine’s experience.
The meeting was wrapped with a signature of a Memorandum of Understanding on defence industry cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania and the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine in order to support production of weapons and ammunition and implementation of other defence industry projects.
