Lithuania to join allied IT coalition for Ukraine – defmin

VILNIUS – Lithuania plans to join an IT coalition being established by Estonia and Luxembourg to help Kyiv in its fight against Kremlin forces, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said on Thursday after a meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group.

"I think Lithuania certainly has such possibilities, and we will definitely join the IT coalition. We have such opportunities in our hands and we can really help the Ukrainian IT sector," Anusauskas told BNS from Brussels on Thursday.

In his words, the so-called IT coalition "would help Ukraine's IT sector to improve and reach NATO standards". The format is similar to the coalitions for Leopard tanks and F-16 fighter jets, he stressed.

The meeting also discussed Ukraine's counteroffensive progress, the volumes of allied support and its future prospects, Anusauskas said.

"The conclusion is that support to Ukraine is not decreasing, and I would say it is increasing, it is becoming more structured, it is becoming clearer how it will play out both this year and in the future," the minister said.

During the meeting, allies also presented their current and planned support to Ukraine.

Led by the United States, NATO allies have already provided tens of billions of dollars in arms to Kyiv since Moscow launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022.