Ruslan Stefanchuk: Ukraine is grateful for the powerful level of support from both Lithuania
26 November 2022, 21:10
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the delegation of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania headed by the Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Simonyte.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament stressed that he was very pleased to welcome the head of the Government of the country, which has stood by Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale invasion of russia.
He expressed deep gratitude on behalf of the Ukrainian people to Lithuanian friends for the powerful level of cooperation both at the level of governments and parliaments, as well as at the public level.
“I want to thank for the level of support we receive not only from the official Lithuania, but also from Lithuanian citizens. Their initiatives for the Armed Forces of Ukraine are a huge success among the entire population, and for this I want to sincerely thank our Lithuanian brothers on behalf of the Ukrainian people,” emphasized Ruslan Stefanchuk, stressing that Lithuania is always at the forefront among the countries that lend a shoulder to Ukraine. According to him, the assistance of friendly Lithuania at the level of military, financial and humanitarian, sanctions counteraction to the russian federation is especially important.
In addition, the Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine called on Lithuanian colleagues to support all initiatives of Ukraine to restore legal justice in punishing russia for all crimes committed in Ukraine.
“The end of this war is not only a victory on the battlefield, but also a victory in international legal institutions, where we must together achieve the recognition of the russian federation guilty of all crimes within the International Criminal Court or the Special Tribunal. As well as compensation for all losses: it is not European taxpayers who should pay for what russia has done in Ukraine, but russia itself, which is guilty of this aggression, of the terrible genocide on our land,” Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.
The parties also discussed the energy situation in Ukraine. The Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament emphasized that our country is facing new challenges due to the missile and energy terror unleashed by russia.
“Macro-financial assistance is important for us, given the critical situation in the economy and the acute energy crisis. We need generators, transformers, fuel to survive possibly the most difficult winter in the history of Ukraine,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
He also drew the attention of the Lithuanian guests to further cooperation between the two countries on the European and Euro-Atlantic tracks of Ukraine, where Lithuania has provided and continues to provide strong practical support, particularly, in matters that are of the responsibility of the Parliament.
In her turn, Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Simoniete expressed admiration for the resilience of the Ukrainian people, courage and professionalism of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She stressed that after the recent russian missile attacks, the security issue for Europe and the world had become more acute than ever. And here, according to her, the cooperation of all European governments and parliaments in strengthening assistance to Ukraine is important.
“The more russia attacks Ukrainian territory and civilian infrastructure, the closer it gets to Ukraine’s western border, the more likely such incidents on NATO territory are. And we keep telling our friends and partners that NATO Allies need to strengthen their defences, but Ukraine also needs strong defences, so we need to help it even more,” stressed Simonite.