West lags behind needs of Ukrainian military – Nausėda
Western countries should accelerate the provision of military assistance to Ukraine, without which it is impossible to hold back Russia’s military offensive.
This was emphasized by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda during the discussion panel "Horizons of Ukraine" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
"We now need to implement the decisions made quickly, which, unfortunately, is being done too slowly. We are lagging behind the needs of the Ukrainian military," Nausėda emphasized.
The Lithuanian leader called economic assistance critical for Ukraine. He expressed hope that the European Council would make a positive decision on February 1 to provide Ukraine with EUR 50 billion in macro-financial assistance.
In his opinion, two political decisions about the country's future are important for Kyiv. In this context, he mentioned the beginning of the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU.
He expressed hope that the next NATO summit in Washington would be a step forward in Kyiv's Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Lithuanian president also noted that his country is very well aware of the threats from Russia, as it shares a border with that country of hundreds of kilometers. He emphasized that Vilnius had never had any illusions about the Kremlin's true intentions, neither in 2015 nor in 2022.
"My country is well aware that the appetites of the Russian regime are limitless. And if they succeed in Ukraine, we will be the second or third target. But they are challenging the entire democratic world, not specific countries. They are challenging our system, a democratic system based on democratic principles and values," the Lithuanian leader emphasized.
Nauseda expressed hope that Russian state assets frozen in the West, including those of the Russian Central Bank, would eventually be used to rebuild Ukraine. At the same time, he said, it will be necessary to develop mechanisms for transferring the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs close to the Kremlin to Ukraine. According to him, the West is acting too slowly in preparing legal mechanisms that will allow the transfer of these funds to Ukraine.
"I believe that in many areas our support for Ukraine needs to be accelerated, because this acceleration is very important to achieve a better result," Nausėda stated.
