Lithuania says deployment of Western army trainers in Ukraine 'quite doable'
Lithuania's foreign minister says there could be a temporary alliance among Western nations to deploy military trainers in Ukraine, supported by ground-based air defense.
Gabrielius Landsbergis upon meeting his British counterpart, David Cameron, in London expressed support for his statement that Ukraine could utilize weapons manufactured in Britain against Russia, The Guardian reported.
"Our troops have been training Ukrainians in Ukraine before the war, and we’ve been doing that for many years. So returning to this tradition might be quite doable,” Landsbergis said.
“This could be a first step in president Macron’s initiative.”
The 42-year-old foreign minister has consistently advocated for stronger measures against Russia, while his recent comments indicate that there is backing in certain European regions for the assertive approach embraced by the French president.
He said that the idea of providing training to Ukrainians within their own borders was deemed as a more feasible option compared to conducting training within the territories of NATO member states.
“You don’t need to transport them all the way. You have everything that they need right there,” he said.
“It could be that the trainers stationed as part of the coalition to train the Ukrainians in Ukraine could be defended with air defense, and that in turn implies that part of Ukrainian sky could be defended with air defense.”
The move would “tell Putin that it’s not up to him to decide the way that we’re helping Ukraine. Instead, we’ll see what is needed, and we adapt to the situation because the situation is not getting better.”
The Baltic country’s foreign minister further mentioned that the Lithuanian parliament had already authorized the government to conduct training activities in Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of doing so within a larger coalition.
He blamed the West for its “failure” in Ukraine and sounded hopeless for the future of the conflict.
“The damage that we’re seeing – it’s on us, it’s our failure. It sounds like Russian success, but they can do this blindfolded if we’re unable to defend Ukrainian cities,” Landsbergis said.
“Looking into the next winter I honestly have a very difficult time to imagine how the country is going to fare.”
President Emmanuel Macron of France has advocated the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, arguing that it is legitimate to keep Russia guessing about what the west is prepared to do to defend Ukrainian sovereignty.
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