Russia, regardless of outcome of war in Ukraine, will remain long-term threat - Šakalienė
During a visit to the United Kingdom, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Šakalienė said that Russia will remain a long-term threat.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Delfi.
"Regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine, Russia will remain a long-term threat. Therefore, it is necessary not only to maintain support for Ukraine but also to urgently increase the defense budget and invest in the defense industry," the Defense Minister said.
She also noted that the good news is that the UK has increased defense spending from 2.5% to 3% of GDP.
Šakalienė emphasized that the perception of the Russian threat is one of the aspects that unite Lithuania and the UK.
"We are united not only by strong bilateral ties, but also by our approach to the threat that Russia poses to European security. We are therefore grateful to the UK for its consistent efforts to strengthen the security of NATO's eastern flank. We strongly support the JEF as a flexible platform that allows like-minded people to act together, especially when others may hesitate," Šakalienė said.
To recap, President Gitanas Nausėda assured that Lithuania would never recognize the occupied territories of Ukraine - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - as part of Russia.
