Andrii Sybiha and Lithuanian counterpart Kęstutis Budrys coordinate positions ahead of key EU and NATO summits

On 9 June, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha hosted his Lithuanian counterpart Kęstutis Budrys in Kyiv, marking his fourth visit to Ukraine.

“Thank you for your visit of courage and solidarity despite ongoing russian attacks. It is a testament to Lithuania’s unwavering support for Ukraine,” said Andrii Sybiha.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister emphasised that the security of Ukraine, Lithuania, the Baltic states, and all of Europe is indivisible. The two sides coordinated steps to accelerate Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO ahead of the European Council meeting and the NATO Summit in The Hague.

Andrii Sybiha highlighted Lithuania’s active role in Ukraine’s recovery and expressed hope that Lithuania would join the Civil Protection Shelters Coalition, recently launched by Ukraine and Finland. He also noted that Ukraine looks forward to Lithuania’s participation in the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed that Operation “Spiderweb” once again demonstrated Ukraine’s capabilities to the world. He described the operation as an active defence against aggression and terror, noting that Ukraine conducts strikes with surgical precision, targeting only legitimate military objectives.

“As long as russia refuses to cease fire and end its aggression, as long as it attacks civilians, we will systematically and effectively deprive russia of its means of terror,” the Andrii Sybiha stated.

He added that every destroyed russian military factory, airfield, warehouse, or aircraft represents eliminated tools of destruction that russia can no longer use against Ukrainians or citizens of other countries.

“Ukraine is pursuing a forward-looking and effective policy aimed at reducing the russian threat to the entire Euro-Atlantic community. We need robust support for these actions,” the Ukrainian Foreign Minister remarked.

Andrii Sybiha underscored the need for certain foreign capitals to clearly understand that Ukraine will not lose, and russia will not win.

He reminded that Ukraine desires peace more than any other nation. He pointed out that russia has not responded to Ukraine’s constructive proposals, which were presented before the Istanbul meeting. Instead, russia “threw a list of ultimatums on the table” in Istanbul, further proving the need to intensify pressure on russia and those aiding its war efforts.

“The EU’s 18th sanctions package must not only be strong but devastating. It must strike at russian energy, its shadow fleet, banking sector, and sanction-evasion schemes,” the Andrii Sybiha stressed.

He expressed deep gratitude to the Lithuanian people and Government for their support, including over EUR 800 million in military aid, co-leadership in the demining coalition, and participation in coalitions for artillery, air defence, drones, electronic warfare, and IT.