Zelensky awards Nausėda Ukraine’s Order of Freedom

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda with Ukraine’s Order of Freedom in Kyiv on Monday, LRT reported. Nausėda was attending events marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

Nausėda said the award belonged to all Lithuanian people in recognition of their continued support for Ukraine.

“Ukraine’s struggle is also the struggle of all of us for freedom, which is why Lithuania was, is and will remain with Ukraine until its victory,” Nausėda said, according to a statement from the Lithuanian Presidency.

He said the anniversary had particular significance as Ukraine continued fighting Russian aggression. In recent weeks, Russia has attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles, destroying apartment buildings and killing dozens of people in the capital.

Nausėda said the Ukrainian people’s resistance was not only a defence of their country but also a fight for a rules-based international order in which state borders cannot be changed by force.

He also stressed the need to ensure uninterrupted military, humanitarian and financial support for Ukraine. Nausėda said Zelensky had repeatedly appealed publicly to partners for additional air defence support after Russian attacks, when tens of thousands of people sheltered in Kyiv’s metro system and many more took refuge in basements and other shelters across the city.

On Monday, the Lithuanian president was also due to attend a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, co-chaired by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany.