Lithuania Commits €200 Million to Boost Ukrainian Ammunition and Air Defense Systems
Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė visited Kyiv, where during an international defense industry forum she discussed with the Ukrainian side and allies support for Ukraine, bilateral arms production, and the application of Ukrainian experience to strengthen Lithuanian air defense.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Lithuania.
During a closed meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė discussed with the defense ministers of Canada, Latvia, Sweden, Denmark, and Romania the issue of further support for Ukraine and investment in the Ukrainian defense industry.
The forum presented the latest developments and technological solutions that increase the effectiveness of combat operations, and discussed opportunities for cooperation in arms production, technology transfer, and the development of joint projects to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities.
According to Šakalienė, Lithuania remains firmly committed to continuing its support for Ukraine.
As the Minister stated, “in the coming years, it is planned to allocate more than €200 million to support Ukraine in projects related to ammunition, anti-drone systems, demining, rehabilitation, training, and support for the Ukrainian defense industry.”
In addition, Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Kieve also announced that Lithuania intends to contribute up to €30 million to the PURL initiative.
During her visit, Dovile Šakalienė paid particular attention to air defense issues. She met with the leadership of the Ukrainian Air Force and experts to discuss new challenges, lessons learned, and technological innovations in this area.
The minister stressed the importance of maximally effective cooperation and regular expert consultations for the practical application of Ukrainian experience in strengthening Lithuanian air defense. In particular, it was agreed to strengthen airspace monitoring and information exchange for the timely detection of Russian drones that could threaten Lithuania through Belarusian territory.
According to Shakalie, “it is extremely important to strengthen airspace monitoring in order to detect Russian drones heading for Belarus as early as possible, which may subsequently violate Lithuanian airspace. To this end, it was agreed to exchange information between representatives of our air forces.”
As The Gaze informed earlier, Ukraine and Lithuania have taken another step toward deepening their security partnership, with both countries’ defense ministers signing a letter of intent to jointly produce advanced military equipment.