Lithuania ready to send troops to Ukraine, says PM

Lithuania is ready to send its soldiers on a training mission to Ukraine despite Russian nuclear threats, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said in an interview with the Financial Times. published Wednesday.

His comments follow those of the Russian Defense Ministry announcement that its forces were preparing to conduct tactical nuclear weapons exercises in response to Western “threats and provocations.”

“If we just thought about the Russian response, we wouldn’t be able to send anything. Every two weeks you hear that someone is going to be bombed,” Simonyte told the FT about the possibility of a Lithuanian presence on the ground in Ukraine.

EU and NATO member Lithuania had previously offered to send its troops to Ukraine for training purposes, but as FT notes, kyiv has not yet made such a request.

Russia summoned the French ambassador on Monday to denounce the country’s “provocative” policies following President Emmanuel Macron’s comments to The Economist last week that Western troops could be sent to Ukraine if Russia crossed the border lines. Ukrainian front.

“They are talking about the desire and even the intention to send armed contingents to Ukraine, that is, in fact, to put NATO soldiers in front of the Russian army,” said the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

“This is a whole new wave of escalation of tensions. This is unprecedented and requires special measures,” Peskov added.

Besides Macron, Russia also lambasted British Foreign Secretary David Cameron for saying kyiv had the right to strike targets in Russia.

Despite Simonyte’s remarks to the FT, Italian daily Corriere Della Sera, citing a draft NATO document, reported on Sunday that the Western military alliance was considering adopting a “no troops on the ground” in the Ukrainian resolution this summer.