According to Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, Western countries will supply fighter jets to Ukraine. “The delivery of combat aircraft is just a matter of time,” Karins told Der Spiegel. “If Ukrainians need fighter jets, they should get them,” said the centre-right politician. Karins urged Germany to do more to defend Europe.
Germany’s industry has “the best conditions to strengthen Europe’s defence,” Karins told SPIEGEL. In addition, Berlin was to fulfill Lithuania’s demand to permanently deploy a combat-capable brigade on NATO’s eastern flank in Lithuania. “The attack on Ukraine showed that minutes count in an emergency,” Karins said. According to Karins, “ready brigades in all Baltic states” would be a “reliable deterrent for Russia”.
According to Karins, NATO countries should also set more ambitious targets for their defense spending. Given the current target of 2% of annual economic output, Karins said: “We should already be talking about a new target, 2.5% for example.”