Lithuania’s Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas says he will require defence procurement to be planned within a single system and carried out evenly throughout the year, LRT reports. President Gitanas Nausėda has criticised the uneven use of defence funds, saying most procurement is completed only a…

Defence spending should be based on the military's actual needs rather than an attempt to raise the percentage of gross domestic product allocated to it, Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union leader Aurelijus Veryga told LRT. The comments came during an LRT television programme featuring Veryga and…

Switzerland’s Council of States Finance Committee has proposed creating an armament fund next year that could give the army access to an additional six billion Swiss francs annually, even though its financing has not been fully settled, SRF reported. Defence Minister Martin Pfister had proposed r…

Lithuanian politicians broadly support President Gitanas Nausėda’s call for a long-term agreement on defence funding after 2030, but disagree on whether it should set only funding levels or also define future military capabilities, LRT reported. State Controller Irena Segalovičienė has proposed e…

Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas says Lithuania’s need for high defence spending remains, and funding should be maintained or increased next year even if some of this year’s allocation is saved, LRT and ELTA report. Olekas said Lithuania’s defence spending is strengthening its position among allies, …

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KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine’s finance ministry plans to revise the 2025 budget to boost financing for defence, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Thursday, as the war with Russia drives demand for more weapons, ammunition and funds to pay soldiers’ wages. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, reporting to parliament on the budget situation, said Ukraine needs to channel more funds to its armed forces, Zhelezniak said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian parliamentary sessions are closed to the public, including to the media, for security reasons. The 2025 budget currently allocates 2.23 trillion hryvnias ($53.7 billion) - about 26% of Ukraine’s gross domestic product - for defence spending. Ukraine’s army is battling a much larger and better-equipped enemy along more than 1,000 kilometres of the frontline in a conflict now well into its fourth year. Finance ministry data showed that Ukraine’s defence spending totalled 765 billion hryvnias ($18.4 billion) in the first four months of the year. Government officials have said they plan to look for additional ways to increase domestic revenues by focusing on measures to reduce the shadow economy. While the bulk of state revenues go to fund the Ukrainian army and domestic weapons production, Ukraine relies on financial aid from its Western allies to finance social and humanitarian spending. Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has received about $133 billion in international financial support.

The bill authorizes multiyear procurement of critical munitions, the F-35 and the Arleigh Burke destroyer.