Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas has confirmed that up to 36 anti-aircraft systems will be sent to Ukraine as the embattled nation tries to defend itself against Russian drone attacks.
«Lithuania will continue to provide all possible assistance and military trainings to Ukraine. We will deliver 36 anti-aircraft missile systems that can successfully combat drones,» Minister Anusauskas explained during a visit to Odessa in southwestern Ukraine.
In this port city, Anusauskas met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksei Reznikov, who informed that Lithuania has trained about fifteen Ukrainian instructors in the use of these anti-aircraft systems, who will now be able to train a larger number of military personnel, according to Ukrinform agency.
«We discussed the security situation, Russia’s actions and the upcoming Atlantic Alliance summit in Vilnius. Ukraine highly values Lithuania’s support, which is becoming more and more diverse,» Anusauskas said on his official Twitter profile.
Reznikov, for his part, recalled that Anusauskas was the first Defense Minister to travel to Ukraine after the outbreak of the war, and that this new meeting has served to coordinate «the next steps to prevail over the terrorist state», in reference to Russia.
Later, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense himself thanked the international powers for their arms support since the outbreak of the war, initiated by Russia almost a year ago, and highlighted the fact that Lithuania was the first country to send man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) «So, can anyone say now that it would be impossible to get warships?», Reznikov added with some irony, although he attached in his Twitter post a photograph of Anusauskas on the unfinished missile cruiser ‘Ukraine’, moored in the port of Nikolaev.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
