Public petition launched to introduce lend-lease for arming Ukraine

RIGA - A petition posted on Manabalss.lv public initiatives website is calling for a lend-lease agreement that would allow providing weapons to Ukraine.

Martins Krusts, a representative of the initiative, indicated that Latvia could cover the costs of the lend-lease arrangement, for instance, by borrowing EUR 1 billion in global markets.

Under the lend-lease agreement, military equipment would be leased to Ukraine until the end of the war for EUR 1. After the war, the recipient could buy out the remaining weapons or  return them to the Latvian military. 

Krusts said that the part of military equipment that will be lost in the war, will be lost in the fight also for Latvia's independence and security. He added that Lithuanians have already partly introduced such practice by collecting and donating EUR 5 million to purchase a Bayraktar drone for Ukraine. 

The online petition has so far gathered 60 signatures.