Saulius Skvernelis: Ukraine should be Helped with Lethal Weapons

Saulius Skvernelis, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, believes that the international partners should provide Ukraine with lethal weapons. He expressed this opinion during the 11^th Kyiv Security Forum organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine.

“We should continue helping Ukraine with lethal weapons. We should do this not because we want to show the whole world that we encourage war. No, we don’t. We want to defend ourselves because providing lethal weapons means that we can save the lives of snipers, the lives of soldiers,” he noted.

At the same time, the Prime Minister recalled that he was very impressed with the visit to Avdiivka, which is in the area of hostilities.

“It is extremely difficult for me personally to realize that today, in the twenty-first century, a war is being fought in Europe, supported by a country that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council,” Skvernelis said.

He believes that international partners should help Ukraine with the rehabilitation of infrastructure in the areas of hostilities.

“I want to urge all our friends to invest in such and similar help, primarily for the civilians in the region, so that they would realize that they are not forgotten,” the Prime Minister said.

For reference:

The annual international event Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 as a platform for high-level discussions on the current issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is being held with the support of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, the German Marshall Fund, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, The Royal Institute of International Relations, Chatham House (UK), and The Regional Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.