Lithuania is ready to send its soldiers on a training mission to Ukraine, despite the nuclear threats that Russia is launching, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte announced in an interview published by the Financial Times on Wednesday, according to The Moscow Times.
The Lithuanian prime minister’s comments come after the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces were preparing to conduct tactical nuclear weapons exercises in response to Western “threats and provocations”.
“If we only thought about the Russian response, then we wouldn’t be able to send anything. Every two weeks you hear that someone is going to be nuked,” Simonyte told the Financial Times about the possibility of the Lithuanians sending troops to Ukraine.
Lithuania, a member of the EU and NATO, has previously proposed to send its troops to Ukraine for training purposes, but Kiev has not yet made such a request, the British publication also notes.
Russia summoned the French ambassador on Tuesday to protest France’s “provocative” policies, following Emmanuel Macron’s remarks to The Economist last week when he said Western troops could be sent to Ukraine if Russian forces break the Ukrainian front lines.
“They are talking about the willingness and even the intention to send armed contingents to Ukraine – that is, in effect, to put NATO soldiers in front of the Russian army. It’s a whole new round of escalating tensions. It is unprecedented and requires special measures,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Publisher: IC
