VILNIUS — The Lithuanian startup ecosystem is actively mobilizing further support to help Ukraine in the aftermath of the Russian invasion and rallying investments for the Lithuanian national military technology (miltech) solutions, a sector that has demonstrated rapid national growth over the past years.

Justinas Pašys, managing director at Lithuanian Business Angel Network (LitBAN), which hosted a thematic event at the Vilnius TV tower last week, said the organization has a mandate to facilitate member connectivity with Ukrainian relief efforts as well as promising miltech startups.

“The Lithuanian startup ecosystem stands in solidarity with Ukraine and has activated multiple support initiatives,’ he said. “As the war enters its fourth week, we must sustain the momentum, zero in on the most pressing needs and centralize our efforts to help. For this, we must maintain a direct dialogue between the business community and the Ukrainian partners and NGOs.” 

The Ukrainian ambassador in Lithuania, Petro Beshta, keynoted the event, noting the dire need for ongoing defensive equipment support and pressure on Western businesses to boycott Russia. 

“LitBAN’s second mandate in these geopolitically challenging times is encouraging investments into most prominent national miltech startups,” he said. “At the event, we decided to showcase five spacetech and unmanned aerial as well as ground vehicle solutions, in order to signal our growing defense innovation sector and the resolute will of our ecosystem to respond to existential challenges.”