The protection of Ukraine's sovereignty is the task of the country itself and its army, but various assistance from other states is also necessary. This was announced on December 9 by the head of the Lithuanian Defense Ministry Arvydas Anushauskas.
"Ukraine has its own forces, and first of all it relies on its army… We are well aware that no NATO country can send as many military personnel as the Ukrainians themselves have. Without a doubt, [Ukraine] understands that the protection of sovereignty is a matter for the country itself. And the help of other countries is also necessary, but it can be of very different forms," LRT quotes him.
Anushauskas noted that Ukraine highly appreciates Lithuania's military support.
"From our side, whether it is the transfer of anti-drones or various devices manufactured in Lithuania, they appreciate the help of our military, who work as instructors, train their fighters in military specialties and management subtleties, and introduce them to the army standards of NATO countries. They especially appreciate this support, because it allows to reform and change the army of Ukraine itself," the head of the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said.
Earlier, on December 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden had a video conversation, during which the American leader drew attention to the allegedly threatening nature of the movements of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine and outlined sanctions measures that the US and its allies would be ready to apply in case of further deterioration of the situation. He also called for de-escalation of the situation.
In response to this, the Russian president stressed that there is no need to shift responsibility for what is happening to the shoulders of the Russian Federation, since it is NATO that is making dangerous attempts to develop Ukrainian territory and is building up military potential near Russian borders.
A day earlier, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin sees clearly aggressive rhetoric of the West on Ukraine and media stuffing on Russia's allegedly planned invasion of this country. According to him, the tension in Ukraine can be removed only by obtaining a guarantee that Kiev has refused a possible solution to the Donbass problem by force.
According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, the United States is conducting a special operation to escalate the situation around Ukraine with shifting responsibility to Russia. She noted that this is a classic Western tactic.
