Ukraine and Lithuania launch Brave Lithuania programme to advance defence innovation

The launch of the Brave Lithuania initiative, aimed at advancing joint Ukrainian-Lithuanian defence innovation, was announced during the NATO–Ukraine Forum in Vilnius.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko announced the start of the programme. The initiative will be jointly implemented by the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Brave1 defence technology cluster.

The launch was announced together with Prime Minister of Lithuania Inga Ruginienė.

According to Yulia Svyrydenko, Brave Lithuania will help Ukrainian and Lithuanian developers create and deploy solutions faster in priority defence tech areas.

These include developments in unmanned systems, electronic warfare, artificial intelligence, communications systems, and other key technologies needed on the battlefield today.

“Ukraine’s defence industry is now one of the most dynamic in the world. Since 2022, our production capacity has increased fiftyfold – from USD 1 billion to USD 50 billion,” the Prime Minister of Ukraine said.

She stressed that Ukraine has gained unique expertise in developing defence technologies under the conditions of a modern full-scale war, while Lithuania remains one of Ukraine’s closest partners in the field of security and defence.

“Bringing together the defence innovation ecosystems of our two countries creates new opportunities for joint development projects,” Yulia Svyrydenko emphasised, adding that such partnerships strengthen Ukraine’s defence capability and enhance security across Europe.

On the Ukrainian side, the programme will be implemented by the Brave1 defence tech cluster.