Lithuanian leaders pledge continued support for Ukraine on Independence Day

Lithuanian leaders congratulated Ukraine on Monday as it marked the 35th anniversary of its independence, LRT reported.

President Gitanas Nausėda told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people that their determination to defend their country and resist Russian aggression gave the occasion special significance.

“While the aggressor relentlessly attempts to break your will, the people of Ukraine prove every day through their determination that their freedom and identity cannot be subjugated,” Nausėda said in his message.

He said Lithuania supported and would continue to support Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Lithuania would never recognise the occupation or annexation of Ukrainian territories, he added.

Nausėda also pledged continued military, humanitarian and financial support for Ukraine and said Lithuania believed the country should join the European Union by 2030. “Ukraine’s struggle is also our common struggle for freedom. Lithuania will support Ukraine until its victory,” he said.

In a message to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the anniversary served as a reminder that freedom, sovereignty and the right of nations to self-determination could not be taken for granted.

“We will stand firmly together, providing political, military, economic and humanitarian support and actively contributing to Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery,” Sinkevičius said.

He added that Ukraine’s defence was critically important for Europe’s security and stability, and that Lithuania would continue to support Ukraine’s bid for EU membership.

Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991, after a coup attempt failed in Moscow. Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and launched its invasion of the country in late February 2022.