These funds are intended to be channeled to different types of transport purchases. The money is also needed for body armor, armored ambulances, various types of technological solutions, and equipment like binoculars and night-vision.
Next week, Defense Minister Artis Pabriks will travel to Brussels, where he will call for the sending of European and possibly Latvian mine experts to Ukraine to help clean up cities and villages from mines and bombs.
“We will maximize support for the rebuilding of Ukraine – roads, kindergarten, hospitals, everything that has been destroyed. With the idea that we, despite some internal opposition to the European Union, can achieve a faster accession of Ukraine to the European Union. This should be the target,” Pabriks said.
So far, Latvia has provided Ukraine with military support of at least €200 million. This amount is comparable to one third of Latvia's defense budget. 56% of these 200 million is spent on antiaircraft defense systems “Stinger” and their launch facilities. 24% of these costs are for helicopters and spare parts, the rest for weapons and ammunition, unmanned aircraft, and personal protective equipment.
“If all the European Union, NATO countries were on the course that Latvia is on, then we, I think, would have won this Russian empire long ago. Because Latvia had no doubt for a moment. As I announced today, “Stinger” was delivered a day before Russian aggression. This means that we have long worked on understanding what the behavior of the Kremlin dictator will lead to,” said Ukraine's ambassador to Latvia Oleksandr Mishchenko.
