Kuleba: Latvia, Ukraine to bolster drone production

Ukraine and Latvia are working to increase joint drone production, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on April 26 during a press conference with Latvian counterpart Baiba Braze in Kyiv.

The drone coalition co-led by the U.K. and Latvia was established in January to bolster Ukraine's arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Seven countries, apart from the founding states, have joined the alliance, including Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, and Denmark.

"I certainly thank Latvia for its leadership in the drone coalition. We are now working together to increase this production. We need more drones. Ukrainian and Latvian companies can really do a lot," Kuleba said.

The Latvian minister also reportedly met with employees of one of Ukraine's thermal power plants to learn about their needs.

Moscow has recently intensified its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine's critical infrastructure, destroying several thermal power plants across the country, including the Trypillia plant, the main electricity supplier to Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy oblasts.

Braze said that the Latvian state-owned company Latvenergo will hand over a 215 MW generator to Ukraine to cover its energy needs.

Latvia has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters since the outbreak of the full-scale war. The country's prime minister, Evika Silina, recently said that Riga's military aid for Kyiv amounted to 392 million euros (around $425 million), including an upcoming defense aid package in April.

Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said on April 24 that a drone coalition had collected over 500 million euros ($535 million) to purchase drones for Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rinkevics, have also recently signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement.

Read also: Media: Lancet drone analog presented to Zelensky, being used at the front

We’ve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.