Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said that Russia’s war of aggression costs Ukraine around €1 billion annually and urged the international community to step up support for Kyiv.
Speaking in Copenhagen on Wednesday ahead of an informal meeting of the European Council, Nausėda stressed that Ukraine can only cover about half of the war’s financial burden, with the remainder needing to be shouldered by the international democratic community.
“Regarding Ukraine’s defense, of course, we must do much more, because according to our estimates, the war in Ukraine costs about €1 billion every year. Ukraine is able to cover half of this sum, the rest must be covered by the international democratic community,” Nausėda said.
The Lithuanian leader also called for maintaining and strengthening pressure on Russia, pointing out that “Putin has no intention of stopping the war.” Among the measures, he highlighted the upcoming 19th EU sanctions package, as well as a full halt to the purchase of Russian oil and gas.
Nauseda criticized Europe’s ongoing energy dependence on Moscow, noting that :
“we — I mean Europe — pay more for Russian gas and oil than we provide in support to Ukraine. Thirteen percent of our total gas imports still come from Russia, and this is already the fourth year of the war.”
He reminded that Lithuania had completely severed its energy ties with Russia in April 2022, just two months after the start of the full-scale invasion.
