Lithuania open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, chief commander says
Lithuania will likely consider deploying military personnel to Ukraine for a potential peacekeeping mission, Lithuanian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Raimundas Vaiksnoras said on Jan. 30, according to the LRT broadcaster.
"If you ask whether Lithuania could (send peacekeepers to Ukraine), yes, we will probably consider it. There will be a discussion, and I think we should also take responsibility for European stability," Vaiksnoras told the Ziniu radio.
His remarks come amid ongoing discussions among Western countries about the possible deployment of peacekeeping forces if a ceasefire is negotiated.
Earlier reports from The Wall Street Journal indicated that U.S. President Donald Trump’s team is weighing a plan to delay Ukraine's NATO membership by at least 20 years in exchange for continued Western arms supplies and the deployment of European peacekeepers to monitor a ceasefire.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Jan. 18 that Germany may consider contributing forces to such a mission, while U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Jan. 16 that he had discussed the matter with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Moscow has strongly opposed the idea. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned on Jan. 23 that deploying a NATO peacekeeping contingent to Ukraine could lead to "uncontrolled escalation."
Zelensky has said that Trump could potentially broker an end to the war but stressed that any agreement must involve Kyiv. While Trump has vowed to resolve the conflict quickly, his aides have suggested that any potential settlement could take months.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Jan. 24 that Moscow is open to talks with Trump on ending the war in Ukraine.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
