Lithuania Hands over M577 Armored Vehicles to Ukraine, Pledges 3,000 FPV Drones

Lithuania's Defense Ministry announced the delivery of a new shipment of M577 armored vehicles to war-torn Ukraine, alongside a commitment to send 3,000 domestically-produced FPV drones.

The drones are slated to reach the front lines within this year. Furthermore, Lithuania will dedicate €15 million towards establishing three rehabilitation centers in Lviv, Dnipro, and Zhytomyr for injured Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal disclosed these developments on April 5 during his visit to Vilnius. "We reached this agreement with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė during my visit to Vilnius," Shmyhal conveyed in a Telegram post.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė underscored the importance of aiding Ukraine and affirmed her nation's participation in an international initiative to procure FPV drones for Ukraine.

To this end, Lithuania will allocate approximately €2 million and will collaborate with the United Kingdom in this procurement, which will also involve the acquisition of UAVs for Ukraine.

Between February 24, 2022, and 2024, Lithuania has provided over €1 billion worth of aid to Ukraine.

Furthermore, Šimonytė highlighted Lithuania's participation in the Czech initiative to procure artillery ammunition for Ukraine, with an allocation of €35 million. Lithuania joins more than 15 other countries in this initiative, which aims to expedite the procurement and delivery of shells to Ukraine.

The UK, along with Latvia, leads the Drone Coalition, providing $250 million worth of drones to Ukraine. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced on February 15 that this coalition would spearhead drone development for Ukraine, marking the first project from the £200 million ($250 million) drone package announced by the Prime Minister in January.