Lithuanians raised funds to buy Bayraktar TB2 drone for Ukraine

Lithuanian citizens have united together to buy an unmanned combat aerial vehicle for Ukraine in honour of its fight against Russian aggression.

The relevant statement was made by the Minister of Defense of Lithuania Arvydas Anušauskas.

Over €5 million was raised in just three and a half days — largely in small amounts.

The funds were raised to finance the purchase of the Bayraktar TB2 drone.

“Before this war has started, none of us thought that we would be buying weapons. But it’s a normal thing now. Something must be done for the world to get better,” said Agne Belickaite, 32, who sent €100 as soon as the fundraising was launched on May 25.

This is the first time in history that regular people have raised money to buy a drone to defend another country.

From the broadcast on Facebook, it can be seen that at about 9 pm in Kyiv, the fundraising counter crossed the 5 million mark.

The campaign was initiated by Lithuanian Andrews Tapinas.

He launched the campaign on May 25, saying he had agreed to a potential purchase with the Ministries of Defense of Lithuania, Turkey and the manufacturer.

On May 26, a special broadcast was held in its support with the participation of top Lithuanian officials and the Ukrainian ambassador.

On the second day, the amount collected exceeded three million, and at the beginning of the third day – 4 million.

Former President Dalia Grybauskaitė, in particular, joined the campaign; Incumbent President Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas also called on everyone on their social media pages to join.