Dozens of mourners, including senior politicians and military officers, gathered at a church in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, on Sunday to pay their final respects to Ignas Kailius, a Lithuanian volunteer killed while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russia's invasion.
Kailius, 25, is the third Lithuanian citizen known to have died fighting in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began.
Lithuania's defence chief, General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, said Kailius had understood the significance of Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression, telling mourners that Ukraine was defending not only its own freedom but the independence of Europe as a whole.
Senior Lithuanian officials paid tribute to the volunteer, with a wreath laid on behalf of President Gitanas Nausėda. In a statement, the president said Kailius had chosen without hesitation to fight for Ukraine's freedom, fully aware of the responsibility that entailed. He said the volunteer's sacrifice, courage and loyalty to his principles would stand as a lasting example of civic duty and heroism.
Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the country had lost "a brave, freedom-loving young man" who had chosen to fight "where freedom is defended at the greatest risk and the highest price".
Kailius joined the Ukrainian armed forces in February this year, serving as an assistant grenade-launcher operator in an infantry unit. He went missing after setting out on a combat mission on June 2, and his death was later confirmed.
The area where he was stationed had come under fire from Russian forces shortly before contact with him was lost.
He served in a unit made up largely of foreign volunteers from Brazil and Colombia.
A fellow soldier, André Aguiar, described him as an outstanding and dependable soldier who was well liked by his comrades, adding that he had volunteered to help stop Russian aggression from spreading beyond Ukraine to other countries, including his native Lithuania.
Two other Lithuanians, Tadas Tumas and Tomas Valentėlis, have previously been killed fighting on the Ukrainian front.
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