As winter approaches, Lithuania’s foreign minister points to a wider security challenge involving ports, energy systems and the routes carrying Ukrainian grain abroad.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys called for strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, providing it with long-range capabilities, and maintaining stable military and financial assistance.
In a post on X, he stressed that Russia continues its large-scale military campaign, attacking Ukraine with missiles and drones. According to him, civilians and critical infrastructure facilities are coming under attack.
Putin continues to intensify his military campaign against Ukraine, using relentless missile and drone strikes to terrorize civilians and destroy critical infrastructure.
– Kęstutis Budrys
Protecting Ports and Ukrainian Grain Exports
Kęstutis Budrys noted that attacks on Ukrainian ports, grain facilities, and maritime routes pose a threat not only to Ukraine. They also affect global food security, as millions of people in different countries depend on supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products.
The Lithuanian foreign minister called for solutions to unblock Black Sea routes that would help secure grain exports from Ukraine. At the same time, he emphasized the need for continued sanctions pressure on Russia to limit its resources for waging war.
We must find ways to unblock Black Sea maritime routes and protect Ukraine’s grain exports while continuing to strengthen sanctions that limit Russia’s ability to wage war.
– Kęstutis Budrys
Supporting Ukraine Ahead of Winter
Budrys also pointed to the importance of strengthening Ukraine’s energy resilience ahead of winter. He stressed that the destruction of infrastructure and attacks on civilians will not break the country.
In his view, strong and consistent international support for Ukraine is essential to achieving a just and lasting peace, which is important both for Ukraine itself and for all of Europe.