Lithuania agrees on EUR 3.5B aid package for Ukraine
Lithuania agreed on providing another assistance package for Ukraine worth EUR 3.5 billion.
This was announced by Foreign Minister Gabrielus Landsbergis, who spoke a joint briefing with the foreign ministers of the Nordic-Baltic Eight countries in Odesa, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
Since the beginning of cooperation, Lithuania has supplied to Ukraine equipment worth EUR 15.4 billion, and now the country has agreed on a EUR 3.5 billion assistance package, Landsbergis said, adding that Lithuania is among the top suppliers of energy equipment to Ukraine.
Landsbergis also expressed support for the Peace Plan put forward by President Zelensky.
He referred to the plan as a very realistic document as the West has the ability to supply weapons and remove all restrictions on their use, which he believes depends on political will. The West has the opportunity to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, so that Ukraine knows it will not be attacked again, said Landsbergis.
He also noted it is impossible to postpone the decision on allowing Ukraine to use Wetern-provided long-range weapons to hit military targets inside Russia.
Delaying this decision in 2014 has resulted in large scale invasion of 2022, the top diplomat argued, adding that another delay will lead to a global crisis.
In this matter, he saw support from his counterparts from Latvia and Estonia.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna said Ukraine’s partners must realize that there should be no restrictions on the use of weapons and that Ukraine must respond and hit military targets inside Russia, Landsbergis believes. Also, he is positive that the Ukrainian raid into Russia’s Kursk region was a necessary measure and that the world will eventually see its results. Ukraine must win on the battlefield, he stressed.
In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Baiba Braže, noted that for Ukraine to win, it is necessary, to reduce restrictions, which will help address humanitarian, economic, and other challenges.
As Ukrinform wrote earlier, Russian troops are reportedly preparing to attack Ukraine’s nuclear energy facilities.