Yesterday at 23:03
Lithuania has invested EUR 20 million in Ukraine’s defense industry and aims to establish joint weapons production with Ukraine.
Lithuania’s National Defense Ministry said this in a statement, Ukrinform reports, citing LRT.
Vilnius and Kyiv will collaborate on the production of strategic weapons systems in Lithuania, the statement said.
“The Ukrainian defense industry has incredible potential to become a global player due to its high level of expertise based on direct battlefield experience, motivation and competence of engineers, and forward thinking of key industry decision-makers,” said Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene.
She emphasized that Lithuania would continue investing in Ukraine’s defense sector by purchasing weapons from Ukrainian manufacturers.
“Lithuania will continue to invest in the Ukrainian defense industry beyond the EUR 20 million already allocated for high-end weaponry. However, we shall be very happy to develop our cooperation further into joint Lithuanian-Ukrainian production both in Ukraine and Lithuania,” the minister added.
In a post on social media platform X, Sakaliene noted that the strategic agreement on developing Ukraine’s defense industry in Lithuania — reached between Presidents Gitanas Nauseda and Volodymyr Zelensky — is moving forward. She confirmed that cooperation would expand into joint production in both countries.
Preliminary agreements on arms production were reached with Oleksandr Kamyshin, the Ukrainian president’s senior advisor on strategic affairs, and Herman Smetanin, Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries.
“Due to security reasons, details on weapon systems remain undisclosed. Further talks will be held in Lithuania,” Sakaliene added.
Read also: Germany says detailed planning of peacekeepers’ deployment in Ukraine “premature”
