Lithuania sending additional defence official to Ukraine

“Amid the growing Russian aggression and military activity in the Black Sea region, the situation in Ukraine must be assessed in an operative and constant manner. In an effort to ensure direct provision of information to the Defence Ministry and other institutions in charge of national security of the Republic of Lithuania, step up the representation of the Republic of Lithuania at Ukraine’s defence and security institutions and pave way for provision of NATO support, the defence attaché bureau in Kiev must be expanded,” the Defence Ministry said.

Lithuania will also scrap the positions of defence attaché to Estonia, Latvia and Finland, also closing down the post to Kazakhstan as of Aug. 1 2016. Under the government’s resolution, a defence attaché should be sent to the diplomatic mission to China in 2016, as the country’s forces are becoming increasingly dominant in the Pacific region.

The changes will require an additional of about 370,000 litas (EUR 107,000) annually.