Zelensky visits Baltic allies amid Ukraine aid doubts
Published: 05:01 PM,Jan 10,2024 | EDITED : 09:01 PM,Jan 10,2024
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda (R) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky hold talks at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania. — AFP
VILNIUS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Lithuania on Wednesday on an unannounced visit to staunch Baltic allies as he seeks to bolster wavering support among other Western backers.
The tour of the three former Soviet republics — which are now EU and Nato members — marks Zelensky's first official trip abroad this year.
'Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are our reliable friends and principled partners. Today, I arrived in Vilnius before going to Tallinn and Riga,' Zelensky said on X.
'Security, EU and Nato integration, cooperation on electronic warfare and drones, and further coordination of European support are all on the agenda,' he added.
Ukraine has come under intense Russian shelling in recent weeks, retaliating with strikes on Russia's border city of Belgorod, as Moscow's attack nears its second anniversary.
Zelensky has urged allies to keep military support flowing and held in-person talks with officials from the United States, Germany and Norway last month.
But a EU aid package worth 50 billion euros has been stuck in Brussels following a veto by Hungary, while the US Congress remains divided on sending additional aid to Ukraine.
Following the escalation in aerial attacks on Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on allies to deliver additional air defence systems to Kyiv.
'Ukrainians do wonders with the air defence the West has provided, but they need more,' Nauseda wrote last week on X.
Lithuania is the biggest donor to Ukraine in terms of GDP, according to the German-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The Baltic state has earmarked government support amounting to nearly 1.4 per cent of its GDP, Kiel's Ukraine aid tracker showed.
Estonia and Latvia were ranked in second and fifth place, with aid committed totalling 1.3 and 1.1 per cent of GDP.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Tallinn was ready 'to allocate 0.25 per cent of its GDP to military aid to Ukraine' over the next four years.
'It's way cheaper to support Ukraine now compared to the price the international community would have to pay if Russia would reach the goals of this merciless aggression,' Tsahkna said on X.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday in a government press release that 'we must support Ukraine as long as it is needed'.
Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds said last week that Riga was committed to 'continuously' provide military equipment and training for Ukrainian soldiers and expand the drone coalition. — AFP
The tour of the three former Soviet republics — which are now EU and Nato members — marks Zelensky's first official trip abroad this year.
'Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are our reliable friends and principled partners. Today, I arrived in Vilnius before going to Tallinn and Riga,' Zelensky said on X.
'Security, EU and Nato integration, cooperation on electronic warfare and drones, and further coordination of European support are all on the agenda,' he added.
Ukraine has come under intense Russian shelling in recent weeks, retaliating with strikes on Russia's border city of Belgorod, as Moscow's attack nears its second anniversary.
Zelensky has urged allies to keep military support flowing and held in-person talks with officials from the United States, Germany and Norway last month.
But a EU aid package worth 50 billion euros has been stuck in Brussels following a veto by Hungary, while the US Congress remains divided on sending additional aid to Ukraine.
Following the escalation in aerial attacks on Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on allies to deliver additional air defence systems to Kyiv.
'Ukrainians do wonders with the air defence the West has provided, but they need more,' Nauseda wrote last week on X.
Lithuania is the biggest donor to Ukraine in terms of GDP, according to the German-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The Baltic state has earmarked government support amounting to nearly 1.4 per cent of its GDP, Kiel's Ukraine aid tracker showed.
Estonia and Latvia were ranked in second and fifth place, with aid committed totalling 1.3 and 1.1 per cent of GDP.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Tallinn was ready 'to allocate 0.25 per cent of its GDP to military aid to Ukraine' over the next four years.
'It's way cheaper to support Ukraine now compared to the price the international community would have to pay if Russia would reach the goals of this merciless aggression,' Tsahkna said on X.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday in a government press release that 'we must support Ukraine as long as it is needed'.
Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds said last week that Riga was committed to 'continuously' provide military equipment and training for Ukrainian soldiers and expand the drone coalition. — AFP