News Feed

Lithuania open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, chief commander says

2 min read
Lithuania open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, chief commander says
Lithuanian and U.S. troops participate in the Iron Sword multinational military exercises on November 24, 2016 near Pabrade, Lithuania. (Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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.

Russia’s Soviet-era military stockpile running low, faces equipment shortages, media reports
The Russian military reportedly has lost more than half of its available equipment, and unless an unexpected shift occurs, hostilities could gradually fade by late 2025 or early 2026 due to a shortage of tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery.
Article image
Avatar
Tim Zadorozhnyy

News Editor

Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.

Read more
News Feed

U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks come after the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing undisclosed sources, that he asked President Volodymyr Zelensky whether Kyiv could strike Moscow or St. Petersburg if provided with long-range U.S. weapons.

"The stolen data includes confidential questionnaires of the company's employees, and most importantly, full technical documentation on the production of drones, which was handed over to the relevant specialists of the Ukrainian Defense Forces," a source in Ukraine's military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called upon the EU to take action against Ukraine's conscription practices in an interview with Origo published on July 15, amid an ongoing dispute with Kyiv over the death of a Ukrainian conscript of Hungarian ethnicity.

Show More