Russia losing war, but support to Ukraine must continue – Lithuanian foreign minister

  • 2022-03-24
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Russia is losing the war it started a month ago, but Ukraine needs further assistance to push the aggressor out of its land, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Thursday.  

"We can clearly say that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is losing the war. All experts agree that Russia has been bogged down in the war," Landsbergis told reporters. "Of course, this is no comfort to those who live in Mariupol or other surrounded cities under constant shelling".  

"That is why [...] assistance must continue to be provided so that Ukraine can not only stop [Russian forces] and fight back, but also start pushing them out," he added.   

Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told reporters that "a battle of good against evil" is ranging in Ukraine and that "evil is waging war without following any rules".

"The losses that Ukraine has been suffering as a state, I mean the damage to infrastructure, to businesses, to bridges, to roads – you name it, it can all be rebuilt. But nobody can bring back the people," she said. 

Simonyte also noted that Russia's actions in Ukraine's nuclear power plants "could cause very serious damage to vast regions, perhaps even globally".

Russian forces launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on February 24. In response, the West has imposed sanctions against Russia and has provided comprehensive support to Ukraine, including military one.