The Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrid Šimonite said that her country is actually ready to send its soldiers to Ukraine on a training mission, but Kyiv has not yet asked for it.
She reported this in a comment to the Financial Times.
At the end of February 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron offered the EU and NATO countries to send their troops to Ukraine. This idea met with threats from Russia, so some countries are afraid of such a step, so as not to provoke a direct confrontation with the Russian Federation.
Shimonite said that the parliament gave permission to send Lithuanian troops to Ukraine for training, but they are not doing it, because Kyiv has not yet asked for it.
The Prime Minister admitted that Russia may perceive this as a provocation from Lithuania, but added: "If we were just thinking about Russiaʼs response, we would not help Ukraine in any way. Every other week you hear that someone is going to be killed by a nuclear weapon."
This week, Russia conducted military exercises using tactical nuclear weapons in response to Macronʼs call for Western powers not to reject the idea of deploying their troops in Ukraine in the event of a critical situation.
Shimonite believes that the Russian Federation is unlikely to use nuclear weapons, since radioactive fallout will affect Russia as well.
"Mostly the winds blow from the west to the east," she noted.
According to Shimonite, Russia is stepping up attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, such as power plants, schools and hospitals, to provoke a new wave of emigration.
The EU currently accepts more than 4.2 million refugees from Ukraine. However, after two years of the war, citizens of some European countries are increasingly criticizing the support they provide to Ukrainians.
Šimonite also rejected the judgment that Lithuania is helping to return men of conscription age to Ukraine.
"We will not deport or search for Ukrainian men in Lithuania, as this is illegal," Šimonite said, adding that the EU had guaranteed them protection until March 2025.
However, according to her, the country may deny permanent residence to some men of draft age if Ukraine proves that they evaded military service.
She "wants to help Ukraine so that it has the potential to renew the Armed Forces and give rest to people who have been fighting for a long time."
- On February 26, 2024, nearly 20 European leaders met in Paris to discuss threats from Russia. After the end of the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said that in the future , sending troops of NATO countries to Ukraine should not be ruled out.
- This statement caused lively discussions. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of the Alliance countries said that such a decision was not taken, and in Russia — that such a step would be a declaration of war. Some NATO members supported Macron. Finland and the Baltic countries urged the West not to reject the idea of deploying troops in Ukraine in case of a critical situation.
- Macronʼs statements came against the background of the delay in military aid to Kyiv from the United States and the inability of other allies to quickly resolve the issue of ammunition for the Armed Forces. After that, Macronʼs rhetoric about Ukraine began to intensify. He called on Europe to prepare for various scenarios and stated that there are no limits in helping Ukraine from Paris. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, said that by sending NATO troops to Ukraine, Macron meant training. Kuleba noted that Ukraine has never asked its allies to send troops.