Lithuania Still Open To Sending Soldiers To Train Troops In Ukraine

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte says her country remains open to sending troops to Ukraine to help train soldiers there, although she said Kyiv has not yet asked for such assistance.

Lithuania remains open to the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine as part of training missions for Ukrainian soldiers, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said. In a story published on May 8, she told the Financial Times that her NATO and EU member state is prepared to send soldiers on training missions to Ukraine. There is parliamentary authorization to do so, but Kyiv has not yet asked for it, she said. Lithuania is one of the most determined supporters of Ukraine, which has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than two years. The Baltic state had previously expressed its openness to French President Emmanuel Macron's ideas about the deployment of Western ground troops in Ukraine. However, other states -- including Germany -- have rejected the idea.