2024-05-09 04:24:55
The Prime Minister of Lithuania, Ingrida Šimonite, said that Vilnius is ready to send military personnel on a training mission to Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reported. The prime minister of the country made her statement in an interview with the “Financial Times”.
Shimonite said there is a parliamentary decision to send troops to Ukraine on a training mission, but Kiev has so far not made such a request.
On the question of a possible reaction from Russia if Lithuania decided to send its soldiers to Ukraine, Shimonite said that Moscow would consider it a provocation.
“If we only think about Russia’s reaction, we won’t be able to send anything,” she said.
At the same time, Šimonite expressed doubts about the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, since in such a case radioactive waste would also affect the territory of Lithuania.
According to the prime minister, Russia is stepping up its attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, such as power plants, schools and hospitals, to trigger a new wave of refugees from the country. She pointed out that Lithuania will not search for or deport Ukrainian men of legal age and added that the EU has guaranteed them temporary protection until March 2025, BTA reported.
She also noted that if Ukraine can prove that some men are fleeing military service, they may not be granted permanent residency in Lithuania.
Shimonite said that he really wants to help Ukraine so that it can renew its armed forces and the people who have fought for a long time can rest.