Given the concentration of hundreds of thousands of troops and military equipment by Russia, the Lithuanian authorities express their readiness to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons. Arvydas Anušauskas, the head of the country's Ministry of National Defence, stressed the need to support Kyiv in every possible way, the outlet LRT reports.
So far, the Minister has not specified exactly what kind of weapon this refers to.
"I will not give some straight answers now. This is a matter of a multilateral agreement because several states are involved, not only the weapons donor and recipient, but also the manufacturer and supplier," he said.
"We cannot allow Russia to cross the red border amid its current actions destabilizing the security situation in Europe. Russia has cut the red lines of the West more than once. It is time to discuss a reciprocal and tough response to the Russian military build-up near the Ukrainian border. Diplomatic measures alone will not be enough to contain Russia," the Lithuanian Minister of National Defense said during a meeting with US Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer.
Context. Recall that Ukrainian intelligence expects a new Russian invasion of Ukraine in late January—early February. American colleagues share these forecasts and call on Europe to develop a joint action plan to contain the Kremlin as soon as possible. At the same time, the RF assures that the dissemination of such data is a "hysteria" that Washington is allegedly artificially stirring up.
Amid the build-up of the Russian troops and equipment to the Ukrainian border, Great Britain prepared a group of almost 600 military personnel for redeployment to Ukraine.
The United States is exploring the possibility of providing additional weapons to Kyiv.
NATO admitted the unusual amassing of troops by Russia at the Ukrainian border and promised to respond to the aggression.
Canada is considering several options for assistance at once: the deployment of additional troops, the dispatch of a warship to the Black Sea region, and the transfer of CF-18 fighters that are currently deployed in Romania.