Lithuania PM calls Russia-Ukraine war a 'struggle between tyranny & freedom'

Amid the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte on Friday, 22 April, called on the international community to make efforts to bring the people involved in "war crimes" to justice. According to Simonyte, the situation in Ukraine is a "struggle between tyranny and freedom," LRT.LT reported.  Addressing a press briefing with her Latvian and Estonian counterparts in Riga, Simonyte stressed that the war in Ukraine will show how the 'world' and 'Europe' will look like in future. 

Highlighting the efforts of Baltic states, Ingrida Simonyte noted that all the three countries have provided support to war-ravaged Ukraine which includes providing weapons and asylum to refugees from the ex-Soviet state. Ingrida Simonyte further underlined the necessity to mount pressure on Russia by further imposing embargoes, energy sanctions as well as the freezing of all Russian and Belarusian banks and removing the banks from SWIFT, as per the LRT.LT report. Recalling her visit to Kyiv, Ingrida Simonyte stated that she had witnessed the mass graves of people and demolished homes in Ukraine. It is pertinent to mention here that Ingrida Simonyte visited Ukraine on April 11. After arriving in Ukraine, Simonyte, along with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visited Borodyanka in Kyiv. She had assured Ukraine would help them in documenting all the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces.

Baltic leaders call on Russia to stop military offensive in Ukraine 

Lithuania Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte met with her counterpart from Estonia Kaja Kallas and Latvian PM Arturs Krisjanis Karins on 22 April. In the joint statement issued by the Lithuanian administration, the three leaders called on Russia to immediately halt its military offensive in Ukraine. The leaders condemned Russia's "barbaric actions" which have caused the deaths of innocent people including women and children. Ingrida Simonyte, Kaja Kallas and Arturs Krisjanis Karins reiterated their "unwavering support" for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The three leaders stated that they will continue to provide financial, military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The Prime Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called on their allies and partners to continue providing support to Ukraine and emphasized the need for the swift delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine for victory in war. Furthermore, the three leaders stated that the future of Ukraine lies in the European Union. They asserted that Russian aggression poses a challenge to whole Euro-Atlantic security.  

Image: AP/Twitter/@IngridaSimonyte