Latest news with #AndrisSpruds
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Turkey, Belgium to join drone coalition for Ukraine
Turkey and Belgium are set to join the international Drone Coalition supporting Ukraine, Latvia's Defense Minister Andris Spruds announced on May 28 during the Drone Summit in Riga. The coalition, co-led by Latvia and the United Kingdom, is expected to allocate 2.75 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in 2025 to support Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression. "The international Drone Coalition is becoming increasingly stronger — we will be able to deliver more drones to Ukraine while simultaneously strengthening the defense industries of Latvia, the EU, and NATO countries," Spruds said. "Our strength lies in unity." With the addition of Belgium and Turkey, the Drone Coalition will grow to 20 member states. The coalition, officially launched in February 2024, includes countries such as the U.K., Germany, Canada, France, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine, among others. Each new member must be approved by existing coalition states, according to the memorandum of understanding. Since its inception, the coalition has committed a total of 4.5 billion euros ($5 billion) in aid to Ukraine over two years, including 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in 2024 and the planned 2.75 billion euros ($3.1 billion) for 2025. The Drone Coalition plays crucial role in supporting Ukraine's use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which have become key in targeting Russian military infrastructure, including airfields, oil depots, and logistics hubs deep inside Russian territory. In March, the coalition allocated 20 million euros ($22.5 million) from a joint fund to procure tactical reconnaissance drones for Ukraine, following an urgent request from Kyiv. The coalition complements Ukraine's domestic initiatives such as the "Drone Line," launched in February, which aims to accelerate battlefield drone deployment. Read also: Ukrainian drones hit Russian cruise missile factory, SBU source says, in one of largest reported strikes of full-scale war We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Latvia to provide 1,500 combat drones to Ukraine
Latvia will provide 1,500 combat drones to Ukraine, the country's Defense Minister Andris Spruds said on April 1. "Two Latvian companies will deliver a total of 12,000 drones worth 17 million euros to Ukraine in the first half of this year as part of the international drone coalition," he wrote on X. The allied initiative, co-led by the U.K. and Latvia, was launched in January 2024 to strengthen Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities, a key factor in modern warfare. By late 2024, nearly 20 countries had joined the coalition. Latvia, one of Ukraine's biggest supporters, has committed to providing military support at the level of 0.25% of its GDP every year and will provide thousands of drones. Ukraine is also working to scale up domestic production. In Dec. 2024, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Ukrainian drones accounted for over 96% of all UAVs used by the military in 2024. Read also: Sweden unveils its largest military aid package for Ukraine worth nearly $1.6 billion We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Euronews
15-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
‘No space and place for complacency' over European defence, Latvian defence minister tells Euronews
Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds told Euronews he is confident that the EU can deter Russia today and in the years to come, but warned that the necessary investments must be made 'right now'. 'Russia is an aggressive country, this is an existential threat to all of us, and investments of course, must be made right now,' he told Euronews on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Asked if Europe could successfully ramp up its defence before the end of the decade, when intelligence services have warned Russia could have the means to attack a European NATO ally, he said: 'Yes, I believe so.' 'I think the important part is to be ready in that any aggressiveness from Russia can just come now and we have to be resilient and we have to build. Of course, it's an ongoing process.' 'And let's not underestimate who we are, let's not underestimate what we have done. But also, of course, there is no space and place for complacency,' he said. He said the EU must expand its defence industry base and build up its capabilities. EU nations don't yet agree on financing options EU leaders are expected to approve measures to boost joint defence spending at a summit in late June, following the release on 19 March by the Commission of a White Paper on Defence in which the EU's executive should outline the options it sees as most viable to boost financing and the capabilities the bloc needs more urgently. 'We have to understand that the investment in the military is absolutely crucial for all of us. And here, unfortunately, I see sometimes diversity among European nations,' Spruds said. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday in Munich that she will propose to activate the escape clause in the bloc's fiscal rules to allow member states to 'substantially' increase their defence expenditures. But the measure requires unanimity from member states to be approved. Other options that the EU is looking into include an expansion of the European Investment Bank's mandate to allow more investments in defence and for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rules to be loosened so that private banks can also pour more money into the sector. More controversially, some member states have also called for the issuing of co-called Eurobonds - an instrument inaugurated during the pandemic to raise money to support COVID-stricken economies - to fund joint defence projects, and for EU funds to be primarily used to buy from and therefore support European manufacturers. Baltic countries are generally positive towards the former but reticent on the latter proposal. Air defence, ammunition, drones For Spruds, joint EU funding should be used to boost air defence - for which systems can have billion euro price tags - as well as more 'practical things like ammunition'. The EU infamously failed to fulfill its pledge to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine in the year ending in March 2024. Ammunition production initiatives since then are going in the right direction, Spruds told Euronews, and Latvia 'expect(s) it to take place on a much wider scale also in the future'. But EU funds should also fund innovation in defence, and close the funding gap with the US, including the development of new drone capabilities, where the bloc can get an edge thanks to the experiences and know-how gathered by Ukrainians on the battlefield, Spruds said. Latvia and the UK are co-leading a drone coalition that gathers 17 countries and donations of around €2 billion and which provides aerial unmanned devices to Ukraine, with the Baltic country also providing testing grounds. 'Last year we made big steps, considerable steps in building up our drone army,' Spruds told Euronews. 'But we have to make the next steps, which include land drones, and also drones in the sea.' 'What we have experienced in recent months, in recent years, once more underlines that the technologies can be very helpful, very valuable and very efficient also in helping protect critical infrastructure objects in places where it's sometimes difficult to arrive quickly,' he said.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ukraine to receive Patria 6x6 armored vehicles from Latvia this year
The Latvian Defense Ministry has ordered an unspecified number of Patria 6x6 armored personnel carriers for Ukraine, the country's ministry announced on Feb. 10. Latvia has been one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters since the outbreak of the full-scale war, and pledged to annually allocates 0.25% of its GDP to provide military aid to Ukraine. The Patria 6x6 is a six-wheeled armored personnel carrier produced by the Finnish defense industry company Patria. It can carry up to 10 soldiers and be adapted for various tasks, such as troop transportation, mobile command posts and medical evacuation. Ukraine is expected to receive Patria 6x6 vehicles in late 2025. The delivery will not affect the volume and schedule of the previously placed order for the Latvian army, the statement read. "We will not only support Ukraine in the fight against the occupier, but also test the use and durability of armored vehicles in real combat conditions, which will provide useful lessons for the national Armed Forces," said Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds. In early February, Ukrainian Ambassador to Riga Anatolii Kutsevo inspected the production of the first batch of the vehicles in the town of Valmiera. Latvia signed an agreement for the purchase of these vehicles in August 2021. The deal includes an order for more than 200 armored personnel carriers, as part of the Finnish-Latvian-Swedish-German cooperation program. Read also: The Counteroffensive: Inside Ukraine's historic first all-drone assault on Russian positions We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
