Thousands of drones destined for Ukraine stuck in Lithuanian warehouses
Thousands of drones are stuck in Lithuanian warehouses (photo: Getty Images)
Lithuanian-made drones that were supposed to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of last year, still remain in army warehouses, LRT informs.
According to the media outlet, the Lithuanian-made drones, which were promised to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of last year, are still in army warehouses.
Manufacturers are surprised by this. They noted that Ukraine will suffer significant losses until the drones are delivered. Instead, politicians point to bureaucratic obstacles that delay delivery.
According to the head of RSI Europe, Tomas Mikalauskas, the company delivered the drones in October and November, but they have not yet reached Ukraine. Other companies have not received confirmation of the shipment either.
Former National Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas believes the delay is due to bureaucracy, pointing to the need to go through six stages to deliver the goods.
“The bureaucracy is so that there are warehouses, the Defense Resources Agency has to formally transfer it to the army, the government has to decide to transfer it to Ukraine, and then it has to be shipped to Ukraine. This means that you have to go through each step as quickly as possible,” Kasciunas explained.
At the end of the year, it became known that Denmark, France, and Lithuania provided 150 million euros for Ukrainian weapons. The funds will be used for the production of missiles, drones, and artillery pieces.
Recently, it was also reported that Lithuania will allocate the first tranche for weapons production in Ukraine. The money will be allocated under the Danish initiative.
Currently, there are agreements that the first tranche of EUR 10 million will be allocated to Lithuania for the implementation of the Danish initiative this year.
For more details, see the RBC-Ukraine article.
