Formula for victory against aggressor is peace through strength – Lithuanian PM

At the Baltic Military Conference, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė urged Western countries to help Ukraine prevail and not to fear Russia's defeat.

Source: Lithuanian government website, citing her opening speech, as reported by European Pravda

Details: "Formula for victory against the aggressor is rather clear: peace through strength. If we mobilise our efforts and start believing in the victory, we can ensure that peace in Europe will finally prevail," Šimonytė said.

In support of her statements, she pointed out that the combined GDP of the Nordic and Baltic countries is higher than that of Russia, not to mention all 32 NATO and G7 member states.

"The outcome of Russia’s war against Ukraine will shape not only [the] Euro-Atlantic but also [the] global security order. Democracies will not be safe in a world where a country with imperialist ambitions threatens its neighbours; where massive atrocities of war go unpunished; where the Russian world - russkij mir - continues or freezes on its own terms the genocidal war," said Šimonytė.

In addition, the Lithuanian prime minister stated that the success of the Washington summit in the summer of 2024 will also be measured by the Alliance's commitment to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.

"Ukraine needs NATO as much as NATO needs Ukraine. Ukraine’s eventual membership would greatly enhance Alliance’s military capabilities, as Ukrainian armed forces are capable [of] fighting against [the] full scale of Russia’s invasion," she added.

The minister emphasised that freezing the progress made during the NATO summit in Vilnius last year, where Kyiv was not invited to join the Alliance, should not be an option.

Background: On 23 March, French President Emmanuel Macron noted that anyone who thinks that Russia would stop in the Ukrainian Donbas and Crimea in its aggressive ambitions is mistaken.

On 22 March, Lieutenant General Carsten Breuer, Inspector General of the German Armed Forces, warned against freezing Russia's war against Ukraine.

On 21 March, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, spoke against excessive pessimism about Ukraine's ability to win the war and urged the world to further support Kyiv.

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