Lithuanian FM: Russia must Lose the War and Ukraine must Win

It has been our conviction that the battlement of former captive nations of russian subjugation is the strongest bulwark against unending russian aggression.

The subjugated peoples that became enslaved in moscow’s prison of nations and then in the 1990s began to free themselves of this inhuman yoke are destined to keep the free world free and russia glowering behind the iron curtain that it erected. By working together, forming an unbreakable multifaceted bloc against the kremlin’s malicious mission of imprisoning old and new, near and far away nations, they can preserve regional and global peace, stability and security.

The historic support Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and others show for each other every day is surely the envy of the free world. They have the knowledge, experience, commitment and spirit to fulfill this task. They only need the free world’s latest military technology to keep russia at bay. The latest iteration of russia’s centuries long war against Ukraine is proof of this.

The x-captive nations also comprehend that in the current war russia must lose and Ukraine must win for peace to return to the region first and then the world.

In an interview with French-language website www.rfi.fr, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis, opined during a recent meeting organized by the French Institute of International Relations that victory for Ukraine and defeat for russia are equally essential because that would create the impression of deterrence, that russia is weaker than Ukraine and the other x-captive nations individually or collectively.

“We want the strategy to be such that Putin never considers outside adventures again,” Landsbergis said.

Lithuania is also incessantly concerned by russia’s history of belligerence and invasions of foreign countries because it is wedged between russia (Kaliningrad enclave) and its vassal belarus.

“Therefore our security issues are higher than they normally would be. We see that russia is currently in a bad position in Ukraine, but if we project ourselves into the future, in three, five or seven years, we know that it will be able to rebuild itself. If there is no radical change in Moscow, then we will have two dangerous neighbors on our side,” he said.

Landsbergis doesn’t expect russia to abandon its historical goal of subjugating Ukraine and the others, but deterrence may keep moscow regardless of its leader handcuffed inside the kremlin.

“We want russia to lose in Ukraine, we want Ukraine to win, and then whatever happens in russia is russia’s business. It will take care of it as it sees fit,” Landsbergis observed. “But we must know that we are defended so as not to be attacked by Russia.”

As a member of NATO, Lithuania is protected by the power of Article 5 that states that an attack against one is an attack against all, which should protect it and other member-states. However, Landsbergis isn’t betting his country’s money on that principle.

“This has been the case so far, no doubt. But looking to the future, one has to admit that russia has crossed a psychological red line. This country is an aggressor that has justified a full-scale invasion against its neighbor. So the idea is that it could find a justification for another invasion. That’s what worries us. That is why we ask that this threat translate into further defense and reinforcement of the eastern flank,” he explained.

High-tech military aid definitely helps Ukraine, he said, but it needs to be delivered faster and more often. Ukrainian Armed Forces are capable of mastering their usage, he added.

“Therefore, additional NATO troops would be a logical step after a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But the deployment of additional equipment and air defense assets would also be very useful. So that we can have the feeling of being protected in the same way as countries further west,” Landsbergis said.

As for the question of the day regarding the perpetrator behind the destruction of Kakhovka dam, Landsbergis doesn’t mince words. Russia did it.

“Russia has been bombing civilian infrastructure since day one and constantly lying about the identity of the bombers. So I think from this experience it is very clear that we can definitely blame russia and demand that they take responsibility. Ukraine must win the war and russia must pay the price for all the damage caused,” he said.