Lithuania is planning to provide another 40-50 million euros in military aid to Ukraine this year, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas has said.
According to the minister, Lithuania has already provided 153 million euros in aid to Ukraine this year.
Lithuania also plans to contribute 10 million euros to the production of the Palanytsia rocket drone system in Ukraine and to supply radars, mine-clearing equipment and short-range air defence systems.
“We are looking for short-range air defence systems on the market that can be purchased and transferred, so we do not need to use our own resources,” Kasciunas said.
The minister explained that Lithuania’s approach to supporting Ukraine was guided by three key principles: minimising the use of Lithuanian military resources and replenishing them as quickly as possible if they were used, planning for future Ukrainian needs and promoting the development of the Lithuanian defence industry.
Kasciunas mentioned the production of Lithuanian drones as an example.
“We are introducing a criterion that you must pass Ukraine’s radio-electronic warfare test. Drone companies go to Ukraine and have their products tested. In our case, none of the companies passed the first test,” he said.
“The Ukrainians provided recommendations on what to improve. Companies invested, improved their technologies within a month, and in the second half of July, five out of six companies passed the test,” the minister added.
Lithuania has committed to allocating at least 0.25% of its GDP annually to military aid for Ukraine, which currently amounts to around 190 million euros. (LRT)