Lithuania’s ministries of defence and finance are developing a mobile application to enable public donations for national defence, aiming for a summer rollout, BNS reports. Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said that the app would allow for both periodic and one-off payments, similar to NGOs helping Ukraine. Earlier, the government rejected a proposal on voluntary donations…
Latvia’s Ministry of Defence will send over 2,500 combat drones of various types and capabilities to Ukraine, LSM reports. The drones, worth EUR 4mn, were manufactured by seven Latvian companies. The delivery is part of the international drone coalition formed to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Latvia’s Ministry of Defence has allocated EUR…
Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence will procure various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for EUR 36mn, BNS reports. The Defence Materiel Agency (GRA) has signed contracts to buy reconnaissance drones from Estonia’s Threod Systems and Latvia’s Edge Autonomy as well as quadcopter drones from Lithuania’s Deftools. Most of the drones will be delivered in autumn 2024…
The Lithuanian government has approved a draft resolution to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions, allowing to acquire, stockpile, and use these weapons, BNS reports. The proposal from the Defence Ministry follows the US decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine and is based on the argument that these munitions are highly effective for…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda supports Lithuania’s withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions so as to improve the country’s defence capabilities, BNS reports. The Defence Ministry has proposed the motion to the parliament, the Seimas. The ministry highlighted the need for cluster munitions in Lithuania’s defence strategy, noting that adversaries like Russia and Belarus would…
The Netherlands will deploy a Patriot long-range air defence system in Lithuania for the Baltic Connection 24 (BALTCON24) military exercise on 7-19 July 2024, BNS reports. Lithuania’s Defence Ministry said that the deployment was the first step in implementing NATO’s decision to establish a rotational air defence model to strengthen the alliance’s integrated air and…
The Estonian Defence Ministry has proposed allowing foreign citizens to take part in Estonia’s national defence, military training, and activities of the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit) volunteer corps, BNS reports. The proposed changes would allow foreign nationals to enter into contracts with Estonian defence forces for both peacetime and wartime roles. Currently, foreign nationals can…
Ukraine may move part of its drone production to Lithuania, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announced, BNS reports. Speaking during a visit to Kyiv, Landsbergis said that one option would be to set up joint drone production in Lithuania. Earlier, the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) announced plans to acquire reconnaissance drones within three years, BNS reported….
The Lithuanian government has banned military staff, border guards, and police officers from travelling off-duty to Russia, Belarus, and China, BNS reports. The Defence Ministry noted that Russia, Belarus, and China posed threats to Lithuania’s national security, including through espionage. Intelligence authorities in the three countries collect information on Lithuanian citizens with access to classified…