Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made an unannounced visit to Lithuania, a key ally of Kyiv as it battles Russia\u2019s invasion. <\/p>\n
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in a statement he was welcoming Zelensky to his country, where the two leaders would discuss the war and Ukrainian \u201cintegration into the EU and NATO.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zelenksy said the issue of \u201ccooperation on electronic warfare and drones\u201d would also be on the agenda, following sustained Russian air strikes on Ukraine in what has been a bloody start to the new year. <\/p>\n
Zelensky arrived Wednesday at the airport in Vilnius, Lithuania\u2019s capital, on a plane bearing the Ukrainian coat of arms. He will then visit the other two Baltic states, Latvia and Estonia, he said on Telegram, without giving a timeline. <\/p>\n
Support for Ukraine in the Baltics has remained resolute while it has wavered in Washington. Ukraine in December received its last package of military aid from the United States until a divided Congress approves the Biden administration\u2019s funding request, which seeks to steel Ukraine as it prepares to enter its third year of war. <\/p>\n
The Ukrainian president last visited Lithuania in July 2023 to attend the annual NATO summit, where he pushed for a clear path for his country to join the alliance and a timeline for its accession. <\/p>\n
Ukraine did, however, secure a streamlined path to future membership. NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc had changed Ukraine\u2019s membership path \u201cfrom a two-step process to a one-step process,\u201d by removing the Membership Action Plan \u2013 a burdensome program of economic, defense and security reforms other recently admitted countries had to go through before joining the bloc. <\/p>\n
Zelensky received a hero\u2019s welcome from the Lithuanian public when he gave a speech in Lukiskes Square during the summit. Addressing thousands on a stage decked out with the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, Zelensky said that \u201cUkraine will make NATO stronger.\u201d <\/p>\n
Lithuania was the first country to leave the Soviet Union, splitting from the bloc in March 1990. Lukiskes Square once featured a huge state of Lenin \u2013 and large crowds gathered to celebrate its removal in 1991. Many in the country retain deep historical resentment towards Russia, which has fueled its staunch support for Ukraine. <\/p>\n
Arriving in Vilnius Wednesday, Zelensky once again expressed his \u201cgratitude\u201d towards Lithuania. Writing on X, he thanked his ally for its \u201cuncompromising support for Ukraine since 2014 and especially now, during Russia\u2019s full-scale aggression.\u201d <\/p>\n
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which monitors and ranks countries\u2019 financial support for Ukraine, Lithuania has committed around 1.4% of its GDP in aid for Ukraine \u2013 the second-highest amount among Kyiv\u2019s allies, behind only Norway. <\/p>\n\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made an unannounced visit to Lithuania, a key ally of Kyiv as it battles Russia\u2019s invasion. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in a statement he was welcoming Zelensky to his country, where the two leaders would discuss the war and Ukrainian \u201cintegration into the EU and NATO.\u201d Zelenksy said the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13836","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}