Why Lithuania still hasn't delivered thousands of promised drones to Ukraine

It is noted that Lithuanian politicians claim that bureaucracy is to blame for the delays.

"We have information that we delivered the drones — some in October, some in November, and we do not yet have information that the drones are already in Ukraine," explains Tomas Milashauskas, head of the drone manufacturing company RSI Europe.

According to representatives of other manufacturing companies, they also did not receive confirmation that the drones were transferred to Ukraine.

According to former Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurinas Kashčiūnas, the delays are due to bureaucracy.

He explains that to transfer these drones to Ukraine, 6 steps need to be completed.

"The bureaucracy is such that there are warehouses, the defense agency has to formally transfer it to the army, the government has to make a decision to transfer it to Ukraine, then Ukraine has to transport it. This means that you have to move as quickly as possible at every step," Kasciunas notes.

He emphasized that such a mechanism is quite logical, but a delay in one place stops the entire process.

Meanwhile, Milashauskas emphasizes that while the weapons are in warehouses, Ukraine is suffering losses that could be smaller.

The damage is obvious — Ukraine lacks drones, a deficit of millions, and if drones are not in the hands of soldiers, it means they are lost — Ukraine is suffering greater losses than it should have, — stressed Milashauskas.

What the Lithuanian defense leadership says

As emphasized by Gedrimas Eglinskas, Chairman of the National Security and Defense Committee, the situation with the transfer of drones to Ukraine should prompt a review of the entire supply system.

At the same time, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense assured that the purchased drones will be delivered to Ukraine in the near future.

They claim that the bureaucratic chain is already being shortened — the government adopted a corresponding resolution this week.