Ukraine must win, otherwise region's security endangered: Lithuanian defense chief

Russia's victory over Ukraine would put the region's security at risk, said Lithuania's defense minister on Tuesday.

In response to Anadolu's questions, Arvydas Anusauskas reiterated his country's strong support for Ukraine and underlined that it will continue "as long as it takes for Ukraine to achieve victory."

"Ukraine must win the war, otherwise the security of the entire region will be endangered," stated Anusauskas, whose small country-population 2.8 million-is a former Soviet republic.

Mentioning that Lithuania shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow's ally Belarus, he said Russia's war on Ukraine proves that the military threat is "very real."

Russia poses "a direct and the most significant" long-term threat to the NATO alliance, he said.

"Russia's aggressive military posture, heavy militarization of Kaliningrad region, (and) Belarus that is fully integrated into Russia's military system pose a real serious threat to Lithuania and the region," he argued.

"That's why strengthened NATO deterrence and defense posture in particular in the Baltic states is of utmost importance," Anusauskas explained, adding that NATO must be prepared to react urgently if the threat grows.

Hailing the delivery of tanks to Ukraine, the defense chief said Kyiv should receive all needed military support to be able to defeat Russia.

Saying that Lithuania is considering all possible options for modernizing its army and capacity building, he cited last year's partnership between the Lithuanian Defense Ministry and Turkish drone maker Baykar "for acquiring and handing over the Bayraktar combat drone with a certain amount of munitions to the Ukrainian Army."

In 2022, Lithuanians organized a crowdfunding campaign to procure a Bayraktar TB2 drone for Ukraine, and managed to collect €6 million ($6.38 million) in three days.

In light of the campaign, Baykar Technology later announced it would provide a TB2 to Lithuania for free and asked that the collected money be given to Ukraine.

Russia's on Ukraine, which just entered its second year, has resulted in the deaths of over 8,000 civilians, with nearly 13,300 wounded, according to the latest UN figures.