Some 3 million euros have been raised in just three days - out of the 5 million euros needed - largely in small amounts, according to Laisves TV, a Lithuanian internet broadcaster that launched the drive.
The drone has proven effective in recent years against Russian forces and their allies in conflicts in Syria and Libya, and its purchase is being orchestrated by Lithuania's Ministry of Defence, which told Reuters it planned to sign a letter of intent to buy the craft from Turkey next week. "This is the first case in history when ordinary people raise money to buy something like a Bayraktar. It is unprecedented, it is unbelievable," Beshta Petro, Ukraine's ambassador to Lithuania, told Laisves TV.