Ukraine, Lithuania sign drone deal to strengthen defense cooperation

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda have signed an agreement on cooperation in defense expertise and the defense industry under the Drone Deal format.

Zelensky reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"During my meeting with the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, we focused primarily on our defense cooperation and agreed to work together within the Drone Deal format: our countries now have such bilateral agreement. The agreement is intended to strengthen both our countries in defense, and importantly, it is built on the principle of reciprocity – we support our partners who provide real and tangible support for our defense," Zelensky said.

He stressed that a Ukrainian military expert team will work in Lithuania to develop the necessary security capabilities, first and foremost to counter modern threats and strengthen the security of our countries and the entire region. "The challenges we face are shared, and we must overcome them together," Zelensky said.

He added that Ukraine values Lithuania's principled support and its readiness to strengthen defense and make it truly capable of responding to any Russian attacks.

"I am also grateful to Gitanas Nauseda for his clear position on our European integration – all six negotiation clusters for Ukraine should be opened," Zelensky said.

According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the document signed by the two leaders opens new opportunities for cooperation in defense production, technology transfer, and joint manufacturing between Ukrainian and Lithuanian companies.

Ukraine and Lithuania will develop defense-industrial and technological cooperation, including in the areas of air defense, missile defense and unmanned systems. The agreement also envisions the prospect of localizing in Lithuania the production of long-range strike, naval, interceptor, and bomber drones in the shortest possible time.

During the meeting, the leaders also discussed potential threats from Belarus.