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Minister of Defense of Latvia Andris Spruds. Source: Facebook Andris Spruds
Latvia, which together with the United Kingdom leads a coalition of drones, has already sent the first batch of drones to Ukraine and is preparing the second. This process took place through a national procurement procedure.
Andris Spruds, the head of the Latvian Ministry of Defense, shared the details in an interview with ArmyInform. The journalists spoke with the politician on the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium.
The minister noted that his country helps the Armed Forces in various ways. As for drones, it is primarily national procurement. "At the same time, we are already starting to implement joint international procurement. We see a lot of interest. So far, it is a modest amount of money, 350 thousand euros, but this is the first step," Spruds said.
In 2024, Riga plans to invest about EUR 20 million in the drone production coalition and a similar amount in developing its capabilities.
"At the same time, when we count the countries that have already made commitments, it is more than 500 million, or rather 549 million euros already promised by the member states, partners within the drone coalition. So, the next step is to use this funding effectively, and we are doing this on several levels," Spruds assured.
As previously reported by OBOZ.UA:
– On June 16, Canada announced a new economic aid package for Ukraine. The country will provide Kyiv with 52.4 million Canadian dollars (about 38 million US dollars). Most of the money will be used to support children and youth who survived the war, as well as to restore energy infrastructure after Russian attacks.
– Meanwhile, the Czech Republic expects to be able to purchase and transfer a significant amount of ammunition to the Defense Forces this year. The first batches of artillery will arrive in Ukraine "any day now," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on June 13.
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