Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė believes that Europe should develop its security system without Russia.
“Sometimes there are voices saying that it will still be necessary to somehow develop a security system together with Russia. In my view, such thinking is wrong because Europe should think of and develop its security system without Russia. I think that perpetually looking to Russia in this respect is harmful,” she told reporters in Vilnius on Thursday.
Šimonytė noted that opinions about the future of Ukraine and Eastern Europe fell into two groups: “the victory camp and the camp of non-defeat, whatever this may mean”.
“I think that there can be no non-defeat without a victory: if there is no victory, there is no winning, and Ukraine must win and there can be no other opinion on this,” the Lithuanian prime minister insisted.
Asked whether she saw any signs of fatigue in Western Europe as Russia’s war in Ukraine entered its second year, Šimonytė answered that she was following international media and occasionally noticing “signals that may look worrying and may give such an impression”.
“On the other hand, Ukraine is being provided with significant support and a lot of military support will be sent [to the country], there are high expectations about the counteroffensive, which is probably being planned by Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” she added.
When asked a similar question, President Gitanas Nausėda said that Russia’s possibilities to finance its war were limited, while the West had more resources.
“I think it’s a matter of honour to demand more of yourself,” he told reporters in Vilnius.
The Wall Street Journal reported at the end of February that Germany and some other allies increasingly had doubts about Ukraine’s ability to retake all its territory from Russia.
Several Western partners saw the offer of security guarantees and better access to sophisticated military equipment as a way to encourage Kyiv to enter peace talks with Moscow, the paper said.
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