Russia has become a cancer of Europe and the world that must be removed, Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuania’s first post-independence leader, said at a ceremony at the Seimas on Friday.
“Victory will come when there’s no Russian empire, or if it’s inseparable from Russia, when there’s no Russia. Russia has become a cancer of Europe and the world. If it is cured, the world may survive, but if not, it may lead to the destruction of the world,” Landsbergis said.
Recalling Lithuania’s national revival movement Sajūdis, Landsbergis noted that the struggle for freedom is not over.
The Lithuanian parliament Seimas is on Friday hosting a ceremony to present more than 200 defers of an independent Lithuania with special certificates and badges.
According to the Genocide and Resistance Research Center, 355 people have been granted the status of freedom defender in Lithuania.
In 2021, the Seimas adopted a law on the legal status of freedom defenders. It provides this status to Lithuanian citizens who participated in the restoration of Lithuania’s statehood or the elimination of the threat to its statehood and integrity during the military aggression of the Soviet Union from March 11, 1990 to August 21, 1991, ie from the restoration of Lithuania’s independence until the Moscow coup.
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