Nearly 20 countries join Latvian-led coalition for Ukraine's drones, MoD says
Heads of Defense Ministries of Latvia and Ukraine, Andris Spruds and Rustem Umerov (Photo: twitter.com/AndrisSpruds)
Nearly twenty countries are joining the drone coalition initiated by Latvia, which will be provided to Ukraine as part of defense assistance, announces Latvian Minister of Defense Andris Spruds.
According to the head of the Latvian defense department, the country is making progress in forming a coalition with nearly 20 countries to transfer "thousands" of new drones to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of defense aid.
"The primary goal is to do everything so that as many of these drones as possible are also delivered to Ukraine," emphasizes Spruds.
This statement by the Latvian Minister of Defense demonstrated the scale of the initiative announced about a month ago after a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, discussing plans to create a drone coalition.
Spruds has not disclosed additional details about the drone project, stating, "We are currently at the stage where we are approaching 20 partners."
What preceded
On December 12, 2023, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, and his Latvian counterpart, Andris Spruds, discussed the creation of a drone coalition. The Ukrainian official expressed gratitude to the Latvian side for the relevant initiative.
Umerov also added that, thanks to supplies from Latvia to Ukraine, including ammunition, artillery, anti-tank and small arms, drones, ATGMs, and many other modern means, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were moving closer to victory.
Drone production in Ukraine
Earlier, Ukrainian government representatives repeatedly stated their intention to produce a million modified drones domestically this year.
Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin also revealed in December that plans included manufacturing over 10,000 medium-range combat drones and 1,000 long-range drones.
He also recently announced that Ukraine had already established serial production of a domestic analog of Shaheds, with dozens of such drones being produced each month.
Additionally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, stated recently that Ukraine had increased the production of drones, including FPV drones, and was working on expanding production with allies.
Latvia's assistance to Ukraine
It was previously reported that Latvia was preparing a new aid package for Ukraine, including howitzers, ammunition, and more. An agreement on military cooperation was also signed between the countries, particularly regarding drone production.
Overall, this Baltic country has provided Ukraine with assistance totaling 595 million euros since the start of full-scale Russian aggression, representing 0.85% of the country's GDP.
