Lithuania to allocate 0.25% of its GDP to support Ukraine
Lithuania has decided to allocate at least 0.25% of its GDP to support Ukraine's security and defence sector.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said this was the decision of the country's State Defence Council at its meeting on Wednesday.
"Lithuania will continue to stand firmly with Ukraine until victory. We will always support freedom."
Today at the State Defense Council meeting, we agreed to allocate at least 0.25% of GDP for security& defense support to #Ukraine.
Lithuania will continue to stand firmly with 🇺🇦 until victory. We will always support freedom.#SlavaUkraïni pic.twitter.com/NNZh3oh9C3– Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) June 26, 2024
The day before, it was reported that Lithuania had allocated an additional €136 million for defence, which means the country's defence budget would now amount to more than 3% of its GDP.
Lithuania is already one of the countries that spend the most on defence in NATO relative to the size of its economy.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that more than 20 allies would reach or even exceed the 2% of GDP target this year.
Polish President Andrzej Duda wants to promote the idea of raising the target to 3% of GDP.