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Strong alliances, strong Europe and strong leadership are more important than ever before, says Vice Minister K. Aleksa in the United Kingdom

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2025-03-07
International cooperation

Vice Minister of National Defence Karolis Aleksa conducted a visit to the United Kingdom this week: he met with Lithuanian military personnel serving in Operation Interflex for training Ukrainian military personnel and their trainees, as well as command staff of the operation.

Vice Minister learned about the Ukrainian military training programme and its objectives in greater detail. When meeting with the operation leadership, Vice Minister thanked the United Kingdom for its leadership in ensuring training assistance and other support for Ukraine and reiterated Lithuania's commitment to Operation Interflex and military training for Ukrainian troops.

While on visit, Vice Minister attended a Chatham House event on "Security and Defence 2025" which addressed the current security challenges and situation in Ukraine. In the opening of the event K. Aleksa noted that we lived in a period of turning-points and the importance of strong alliances, strong Europe and strong leadership could not be overstated. Vice Minister underscored the need to retain the transatlantic unity.

K. Aleksa also met with Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence Lord Vernon Coaker. They discussed support to Ukraine, strengthening the European defensive capabilities, further cooperation in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) framework.

Vice Minister thanked the UK for the leadership in supporting Ukraine and leading the JEF and underscored Lithuania's lasting commitment to Ukraine. Vice Minister K. Aleksa also discussed the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, underscored the necessity for Europe to step up the investment in their defence and presented Lithuania's plans to increase defence spending to at least 5% of GDP in 2026. It was agreed at the meeting to continue the discussions on Europe's involvement in ensuring peace in Ukraine and protection of the critical undersea infrastructure.

A meeting with representatives of the UK Ministry of Defence addressed potential cooperation in defence industry, projects and procurements. The officials exchanged views on possibilities to enable defence industry companies to strengthen defence capabilities of the respective countries in the face of the current geopolitical and security challenges more quickly and effectively.

During the visit Vice Minister also met with members of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union in the UK and took part in a University College London debate on the current security situation.

Lithuania joined other countries in the UK-led Operation Interflex for training Ukrainian military personnel in 2023. Lithuania is also a members of the Capability Coalition for Drones led by the UK and Latvia and the board of the UK International Fund for Ukraine.