Lithuanian Forces May Depart for Ukraine on a Training Mission

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has said that Vilnius is ready to send military personnel to Ukraine for a training mission, but Kyiv has not yet made such a request. She said this in an interview with Financial Times, Ukrinform reports.

Simonyte said she has parliamentary permission to deploy troops in Ukraine for a training mission, but Kyiv has not yet made such a request.

Commenting on Russia's possible reaction to Lithuania's decision to send its soldiers to Ukraine, Simonyte said that Moscow would consider this a provocation. If we just thought about Russia's reaction, we would not be able to send anything, she said. 

At the same time, Simonyte expressed doubt about the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, since radioactive fallout will also affect its territory.

According to Simonyte, Russia is intensifying attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, such as power plants, schools and hospitals, to provoke a new wave of refugees.

She stressed that Lithuania was not going to search for or deport military-age Ukrainian men. Simonyte also added that the EU had guaranteed them temporary protection until March 2025.

At the same time, she noted that if Ukraine can prove that some men are evading military service, they could be denied permanent residence in Lithuania.

Simonyte said that she really wanted to help Ukraine so that it has the potential to restore the Armed Forces and that people who have been fighting for a long time could rest.