Defence Minister Mūrniece goes to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian colleague

Minister of Defence Ināra Mūrniece travelled to Ukraine this week with a working visit that included meeting with her Ukrainian colleague Oleksii Reznikov. Meeting with Ukraine’s defence minister in Kyiv focused on the efficiency of support provided by Latvia and  additional military resources that could be shipped to Ukraine in near future.

‘During the meeting with Defence Minister Reznikov, I confirmed unwavering support of Latvian government and people to Ukraine as it continues to fight this dreadful war. We will send additional arms to Ukraine in near future. This will include Stinger missiles for air defence, helicopters, chain guns and ammunition, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. Latvia will also continue military training programme for Ukrainian soldiers of various ranks. With additional capacity, this training will be available to twice as many Ukrainian troops as in 2022,’ Minister Mūrniece told after the meeting.

According to Minister Mūrniece, the whole world is admiring the enormous courage and dedication of Ukrainian army and civilian population as it defends against Russian invasion. For Ukraine to win, the world must not only listen to Ukraine, but actually hear what it says. ‘We, Latvia, are not only listening, but actually hearing what Ukrainian president, defence minister and armed forces are saying. They are asking for resources to be able to stand against and overpower the aggressor. We are doing what we can,’ Defence Minister said.

Agenda of the visit also included meetings with Ukrainian military officials min various formats. Ukrainian National Ground Forces Academy in Lviv was also among facilities visited by Minister Mūrniece. 

While in Kyiv, Ināra Mūrniece met with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. Minister Mūrniece had regularly visited Ukraine in previous years as the Speaker of the Saeima, thus building a strong parliamentary cooperation between Latvia and Ukraine, which is now successfully carried on by the 14th Saeima.

On Friday, 20 January, Defence Minister Ināra Mūrniece will attend Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Ramstein where allies will discuss further support for Ukraine.

Before travelling to Ramstein, Minister will meet with her Polish counterpart Mariusz Błaszczak in Poland and then travel to Tallin to meet with Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. Political consultations will focus on geopolitical environment and coordinated support for Ukraine in a war against Russia.

Minister Mūrniece has called a press conference on Monday, 23 January, at the Ministry of Defence, to provide additional information on this week’s working visit to Ukraine and decisions of Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Ramstein after return to Latvia.

Contact information
Roberts Skraučs
Head of the Media Relations Section
Military Public Affairs Department
Tel.: 67335393
E-mail: roberts.skraucs@mod.gov.lv