Thousands of Lithuanian drones intended for Ukraine are stuck in warehouses

Thousands of Lithuanian drones intended for Ukraine are stuck in warehouses

Kyiv  •  UNN

 • 86883 views

5,000 drones worth 5 million euros purchased by Lithuania for Ukraine have not yet been delivered due to bureaucratic obstacles. The Lithuanian Defense Ministry promises to simplify the transfer procedure and deliver the equipment in the near future.

Lithuanian drones for Ukraine, which were supposed to be delivered by the end of 2024, are still in warehouses in Lithuania. Politicians claim that bureaucracy is to blame. This is reported by UNN with reference to the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.

Details

It is noted that RSI Europe, which purchases drones for Ukraine, claims that the equipment was delivered several months ago. However, the company still has no confirmation that the drones are in Ukraine.

We delivered some of the drones in October, some in November, but we have no information yet that the drones have been delivered to Ukraine

- said Thomas Milasauskas, Head of RSI Europe.

He added that they have not yet been called to train Ukrainians to use these drones.

Image

According to former Minister of National Defense Laurinas Kasciunas, bureaucracy is to blame. He claims that six steps are required for a product to reach its final destination.

The bureaucracy is like this: there are warehouses, the Defense Resources Agency has to formally transfer it to the army, the government has to make a decision to transfer it to Ukraine, and then it has to be transported to Ukraine

- Laurinas Kasciunas said.

The ex-minister explained that the steps are logical, but if there is a delay at any of the stages, everything gets stuck.

At the same time, drone manufacturers are calling for the delivery of equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible.

If the drones are not with the soldiers, then Ukraine will suffer more significant losses than it could have

- says Milasauskas.

According to LRT, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on national security and defense, Gedrimas Eglinskas, also draws attention to the technical characteristics of drones.

Image

“When it comes to drones, which are new technologies produced according to the latest standards, they should be in the hands of users - the Ukrainian military - as soon as possible,” said Gedrimas Eglinskas.

According to Eglinskas, this story should be a signal to revise the entire system.

The Defense Ministry says that drones purchased from Lithuanian manufacturers will be delivered to Ukraine in the near future. The ministry says that the supply chain is already being shortened, as evidenced by a government decree passed this week.

It stipulates that if state property is acquired for the needs of another state at the expense of funds allocated by the government, the government does not have to re-negotiate this issue. (...) From now on, we will start transferring property to Ukraine in accordance with these amended procedures

- the agency said in a statement.

In August 2024, five Lithuanian drone manufacturers successfully conducted tests in Ukraine. Almost 5,000 drones worth €5 million were purchased for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). In addition, 2,300 combat drones worth 3 million euros were purchased for the Lithuanian army.

Recall

On January 11, 2025, at a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff , President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed to increase orders for drones and increase the production of Ukrainian weapons.