Latvia's third military assistance package to Ukraine will amount to about EUR 40 million this year, and will include company-sized Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance Tracked units (CVR(T)), drones, individual equipment for soldiers and equipment for military engineers. Latvia will also continue to train and equip a total of 4000 Ukrainian soldiers this year and a similar number in 2025. This was underlined by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit in Ukraine.
E. Siliņa emphasized that Latvia has already started preparing a military support package for 2025. It will include the Patria armoured personnel carriers, drones, ammunition supplies, as well as individual equipment shipments and training for defenders of Ukraine.
The Prime Minister reiterated this also during her meetings with the Ukrainian officials and at a press conference held within the framework of the Crimea Platform Summit in Kyiv, attended by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković. Latvia will further support Ukraine by providing 0.25% of GDP annually, i.e. more than EUR 100 million, for military aid. Total support to Ukraine will exceed EUR 200 million in 2024.
"Ukraine will win this dreadful war. Russia keeps bombing, shooting and torturing the Ukrainian people, targeting energy infrastructure and cities to break people’s will to resist. In order bring light and warmth to the Ukrainian people in winter, in addition to military support, Latvia will provide the Ukrainian households in the Chernihiv region with electricity generators and other supplies, in addition to military aid. Meanwhile in October, the third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform will be held in Rīga, where we will continue to underline at international level that Crimea is Ukraine and Ukraine is Crimea," said E. Siliņa.
E. Siliņa also held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal to discuss Latvia's military support to Ukraine, as well as the reconstruction of the Chernihiv region, economic cooperation and Ukraine's path towards the European Union and NATO. The Prime Minister of Latvia expressed her support for Ukraine’s efforts.
E. Siliņa also attended the memorial unveiling in Kyiv to honour the victims of the Crimean Tatar genocide perpetrated by the Soviet regime. During the visit, a number of other meetings between the Prime Minister and the Ukrainian officials are scheduled.
