Lithuanian soldiers could soon be sent on a training mission to Ukraine. Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė told the Financial Times (FT) that Lithuania is ready and the Prime Minister has parliamentary approval for the move. However, it is not yet clear whether this will actually happen, as there are fears of a Russian retaliatory reaction to this move, informs the FT. At the same time, a petition appeared on the website of the Ukrainian president, which demands to invite soldiers from the West to help Ukraine.
“Lithuania is ready to send its troops to Ukraine on a training mission,” its Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė told FT journalist Andy Bounds. In order to send troops, parliamentary permission is needed, which, according to Šimonytė, she has now obtained. But according to her, Kyiv has not yet asked for help, so the Lithuanian soldiers are staying at home.
There are fears that Russia could see this action as a provocation and that there could be some retaliation. “If we thought only of the Russian reaction, we wouldn’t be able to send anything. Every other week you hear that someone will be bombed,” Šimonytė told FT.
At the same time, several hundred thousand people fled to Lithuania before the war in Ukraine, including men who would still be able to fight and, if they stayed in Ukraine, could be mobilized. There is no question of Lithuania looking for these men and returning them. “We will not organize deportations or look for Ukrainian men in the country, because that would not be legal,” Šimonytė said, adding that the EU has guaranteed them protection until March 2025. However, those who Kiev proves are evading military service could be denied permanent residence , she added.
Earlier this week, Šimonytė met with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliňova, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Riga to discuss Ukraine’s defense issues.
However, Ukrainian citizens also began to demand the sending of Western soldiers to Ukraine. On May 7, a petition appeared on the official website of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanding “a decision on the request for military assistance to each of the member states of the European Union, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as soon as possible to Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America regarding the entry their troops on the territory of Ukraine to help repel the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine”. In order for Zelensky to deal with the petition, at least 25,000 people must sign it.
Tags: Lithuania ready send troops Ukraine prime minister permission parliament
