Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas is paying his first visit to Ukraine on Friday and says he feels “privilege and honour”.
The prime minister is accompanied by almost the entire cabinet, except for Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius.
“It is a privilege and honour to be in Kyiv for my first visit as Prime Minister of Lithuania,” Paluckas wrote on X.
“Kyiv’s Wall of Remembrance, with my Cabinet of Ministers, I paid my respects to the fallen heroes of Ukraine, men and women who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their country, and by that – for the freedom of Europe,” he added.
The delegation also includes Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Inga Stanytė-Tolockienė, Energy Attaché to Ukraine Laura Pušinskaitė and representatives of ministries, embassies, and institutions. The visit will last until Saturday.
The Lithuanian government said earlier that the Lithuanian and Ukrainian governments would hold their first joint sitting during the visit, and Paluckas would also hold bilateral meetings with Ukraine’s leaders.
Focus on NATO membership
On the eve of the visit, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told BNS that the visit would send a very strong message that the new government would continue supporting Ukraine, adding that this is the first time that “another country is coming with its entire cabinet” to Ukraine.
On Friday, Budrys met his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv and discussed the priorities of military, diplomatic, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
They also talked about measures aimed at containing Russia, including EU sanctions against Russia and countries helping it to circumvent them, the Foreign Ministry said.
“As calls to come to the negotiating table with the aggressor Russia grow louder and louder, we need to do everything we can to help Ukraine withstand this pressure and to substantially strengthen its position,” Budrys stressed at the meeting.
“The only way to a sustainable and just peace is through real security guarantees, first and foremost through Ukraine’s NATO membership. It is our responsibility as Western countries to provide these guarantees,” he added.
Lithuania is one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters in the West. The new government, sworn-in last week, has vowed to continue supporting Ukraine “until its victory and beyond”.
The new government’s programme includes a commitment to provide military assistance of at least 0.25 percent of GDP to Ukraine and also to help speed up Kyiv’s EU and NATO membership.
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