Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced the formation of a coalition of countries led by Germany within the European Union aimed at supporting Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems. The statement came against the backdrop of the EU summit, where issues of security and support for Kyiv were discussed. Nauseda noted that it is not yet clear what exact size and strength the coalition will have, but it is already known that Germany has taken a leading role in this process.

According to Nausėda, Germany’s proposal to transfer Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine is timely and relevant, and he personally congratulated German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the start of this initiative. The President of Lithuania mentioned that at the initial stage it is possible to transfer seven installations, which were already mentioned by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, and if necessary and if they are more available, additional ones will be provided to Ukraine.

Evika Silina, Prime Minister of Latvia, also expressed support for this proposal and emphasized that such a coalition could work similarly to the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine. She noted that if the necessary resources are not found within the EU, they can be purchased outside of it, which makes the strategy more flexible.