By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
Amid the delivery of more than 230 T-72 MBTs from Poland, 126 M777 howitzers from the U.S. and Harpoon anti-ship missiles (AShMs) from the Netherlands, it is easy to overlook smaller equipment donations to Ukraine even though many more countries have contributed in their own respective ways. [1] One of these nations is Lithuania, which in addition to supplying Ukraine with military equipment from its own stocks, has also been the scene of several remarkable crowdfunding campaigns such as those launched by local journalist and TV anchor Andrius Tapinas.
Through his efforts, and the generosity of the Lithuanian public, almost €6 million was raised for the purchase of a Bayraktar TB2 (which Baykar in fact decided to donate free of charge). [2] This comes in addition to the €23 million already raised by Lithuanian citizens for the Blue/Yellow charity that provides the Ukrainian military with non-lethal military equipment since 2014. [3] The millions raised by Tapinas for the TB2 will instead be spent on a variety of other items for Ukraine's Army, including 4 large VTOL UAVs, anti-drone guns and additional munitions for Ukraine's TB2s.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces have similarly been a valuable source of support to Ukraine. Considering that the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania operate significantly less quantities of military equipment than other NATO member states, their efforts at keeping Ukraine in the fight are impressive. In late April 2022, the donated military aid from Lithuania amounted to €100 million, with additional shipments reported to be on the way. [4] [5]
The Lithuanian Army has delivered at least 20 M113 APCs, 120mm heavy mortars, and an unspecified number of FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS, in addition to a range of anti-tank weapons, ammunition, grenades, small arms, vehicles and communications equipment. The delivery of additional M113s appears likely. The Lithuanian Land Forces also still maintain up to 54 World War II-era 105mm M101 howitzers in reserve, although their limited range of just 11km (compared to the 15km of the 122mm D-30, for instance) make these relatively poorly suited for use in Ukraine.
One of six Estonian-made EOS C VTOL UAVs bought with the money collected from Tapinas' crowdfunding campaigns. These have since been named in honour of the Lithuanian goddess of death 'Magyla'. |
The following list attempts to keep track of military equipment delivered or pledged to Ukraine by Lithuania shortly prior to and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The entries below are sorted by armament category (with a flag denoting the country of origin), and due to the confidential nature of some arms deliveries they can serve only as a lower bound to the total volume of weaponry delivered. This list will be updated as further military support is declared or uncovered.
(Click on the vehicle or equipment type to get a picture of them)
Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs)
- 1 Bayraktar TB2 (Crowdfunded by the Lithuanian public. Subsequently given to Lithuania by Baykar Tech free of charge with the €6 million collected used for aid) [To be delivered]
Reconnaissance UAVs
- 6 EOS C VTOL (Two crowdfunded in early May and four more purchased with the money collected from the TB2 crowdfunder) [June 2022]
Anti-Drone Jammers
- 110+ EDM4S Sky Wiper [To be delivered]
Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS)
- FIM-92 Stinger [February 2022]
Heavy Mortars
- 20 120mm Heavy Mortars [April 2022]
Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs)
- 20 M113 [June 2022]
Vehicles
- 10 Military Trucks [June 2022]
- 10 Mitsubishi L200s (For demining operations) [June 2022]
Small Arms (Delivered along with ammunition)
- Anti-Tank Weaponry [March 2022]
- Machine Guns [March 2022]
- Submachine Guns [March 2022]
- Grenades [March 2022]
Miscellaneous Equipment
- Anti-Drone Imaging Equipment [March or April 2022 and June 2022]
- Thermal Imagers [March or April 2022 and June 2022]
- Communications Equipment [March 2022]
[1] Answering The Call: Heavy Weaponry Supplied To Ukraine https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/04/answering-call-heavy-weaponry-supplied.html
[2] Go-Fund Ukraine: Baykar Tech Donates TB2 For Ukraine After Lithuanian Crowdfunder https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/06/go-fund-ukraine-lithuania-raises-funds.html
[3] Let your money fight https://blue-yellow.lt/en#about-us
[4] JAV inicijuotame pasitarime dalyvavęs A. Anušauskas: esame pasiryžę visokeriopai prisidėti prie ilgalaikio Ukrainos ginkluotųjų pajėgų stiprinimo https://kam.lt/lt/naujienos_874/aktualijos_875
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