Dnipropetrovsk Investment Agency (DIA) has prepared an overview of the international cooperation of Ukraine and Dnipropetrovsk region amid the aggression of the russian federation. The material focuses on Latvia’s support and foreign trade indicators based on DIABASE data.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the russian federation, Latvia’s assistance to Ukraine has been among the most consistent among European partners, particularly considering the size of Latvia itself. Its significance lies not only in financial support or equipment, but also in a long-term approach: an annual share of GDP allocated to military assistance, a focus on drones, the development of joint production, the training of Ukrainian military personnel, participation in international coalitions, and support for the reconstruction of the Ukrainian regions.
For Latvia, russian aggression against Ukraine is not merely a war in another country, but a matter of the Baltic region’s own security. This is why Riga formalized long-term security commitments with Ukraine back in 2024: for 2024–2026, Latvia set a target of providing annual military support to Ukraine at the level of 0.25% of its GDP.
In 2025, this policy became even more visible. From 2022 to 2025, Latvia’s military assistance to Ukraine reached approximately €665 million, while by the end of 2025 its military support amounted to 0.3% of GDP – exceeding the minimum declared threshold. The main areas of support in 2025 included procurement from Latvia’s defence industry, participation in international coalitions, primarily the Drone Coalition, training of Ukrainian military personnel, and the transfer of equipment.
One of the most important elements of assistance in 2025 was armoured vehicles. Riga transferred 42 Patria 6×6 armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, as well as 12 CVR(T) combat reconnaissance vehicles as part of a previously announced package. In July 2025, Prime Minister of Latvia Evika Siliņa, during her visit to Kyiv, formally handed over part of these vehicles to the Ukrainian military. At that time, it was stated that the 2025 military assistance package included Patria vehicles, drones, and other equipment with a total value of approximately €70 million.
Drone support take a separate and important place. Together with the United Kingdom, Latvia is a co-leader of the Drone Coalition an international coalition aimed at providing Ukraine with unmanned aerial systems, developing secure Western supply chains for components, and supporting drone production. The Ministry of Defence of Latvia stated that in 2025 funding for drones for Ukraine was doubled to €50 million, intended for the procurement of drones from Latvian manufacturers. Latvia delivered around 12,000 drones to Ukraine within the framework of the coalition. In January 2025, Ukraine and Latvia also discussed the possibility of establishing joint ventures for the production of UAVs, including long-range drones.
The training of Ukrainian military personnel was also an important area of support. Latvia stated its capacity to train up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers in various specialties, both on its own territory and within the joint training mission LEGIO, involving the Nordic countries, the Baltic States and Poland.
At the international level, Latvia acted as an active advocate for Ukraine in 2025. It participated in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group format, the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine mission, and the PURL mechanism – a NATO and U.S. initiative for the procurement of priority weapons for Ukraine. The Ministry of Defence of Latvia reported that in 2025 Riga contributed €7.2 million to PURL, while in February 2026 the government decided to allocate an additional €10 million.
In addition to military assistance, Latvia supported Ukraine through humanitarian aid and recovery efforts. As of early 2026, the total assistance provided by the Latvian state since the beginning of the full-scale war amounted to €1.08 billion, or around 0.6% of GDP. This amount included military assistance, support for Ukrainian civilians in Latvia, humanitarian cargo, medical equipment, generators, transformers, vehicles, electronics, and rebuilding projects.
In March 2026, Latvia also approved a new support package worth €6.8 million. It was aimed at energy, shelters, infrastructure, social and civil resilience, as well as strengthening Ukraine’s drone capabilities.
As of September 2025, $2.1 million in investments from Latvia had been attracted into the regional economy. There are 8 companies with Latvian investments operating in Dnipropetrovsk region in the service, trade, and construction sectors, which indicates stable economic ties and practical interest of Latvian business in the region.
Latvia remains an important trade partner of Dnipropetrovsk region. The high level of partnership is confirmed by a bilateral analysis of foreign economic activity. Latvian companies are most interested in parts of railway locomotives, cocoa and cocoa products, ferrous metals and products thereof, among others. In the first 9 months of 2025, exports of goods from Dnipropetrovsk region amounted to $19.6 million, increasing by 3.6% compared with the corresponding period of 2024.
More than 100 enterprises of Dnipropetrovsk region exported their products to the Latvian market, including companies from the metallurgical complex, machine-building, processing, and agricultural sectors.
Imports of goods from Latvia to Dnipropetrovsk region decreased by 15.2% compared with the corresponding period of 2024 and amounted to $22.4 million.
Around 70 importing enterprises in the region purchased meat and fish products, coffee and tea, pharmaceutical products, and other goods from Latvia.
Import operations were mainly carried out by enterprises of the food and processing industries, as well as trade and pharmaceutical companies.
Source: Information for this article was compiled from publicly available sources.
