Lithuanian defense minister visiting Ukraine

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis is starting a two-day official visit to Ukraine on Thursday. 

Karoblis is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, to participate in the Kiev Security Forum and to meet with Lithuanian troops taking part in a military training operation in the Desna and Berdychiv training centers, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said. 

At the Kiev Security Forum, Karoblis will speak in a panel discussion on "Joining Forces for Battle for Freedom", with other speakers including Poltorak, Oleksandr Turchynov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, and Marko Mihkelson, head of the Estonian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. 

Since the beginning of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine in early 2014, Lithuania has supported Kiev politically and has provided the country with humanitarian assistance and millions euros’ worth of weapons and ammunition.