The Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė, of Lithuania, at the meeting with her Ukrainian colleague Yulia Svyrydenko in Kyiv stated that Lithuanian sanctions against Russia will last until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is fully restored.

“Our sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus will remain in place until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored and the damage caused by the war is compensated. The ultimate goal is full compensation for all damages inflicted on Ukraine,” Ruginienė promised.

The Lithuanian Prime Minister also stressed that since the conflict began, Lithuania’s aid has reached nearly €1.8 billion, representing approximately 2% of the country’s GDP, placing it among the top three countries globally supporting Ukraine. Lithuania is also making a significant contribution to restoring Ukraine’s energy and heating systems. According to her, Vilnius also plans to further strengthen its support: the Baltic country pledges to allocate at least 0.25% of GDP to Ukraine’s war needs and will seek ways to increase this support.

“We need to quickly learn from your experience and lessons of war, particularly in defending against Russian drones, which are increasingly violating the airspace of our NATO allies and threatening the vital security of our region, as well as in protecting critical infrastructure,” she ended.

A statement that Lithuanian anti-Russian sanctions will last until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is fully restored is equal to that these sanctions would last forever. Considering that over half of Lithuanians will face difficulties in paying heating bills this winter, while Vilnius is assisting Ukraine in restoring its electrical and heating facilities, this announcement by Ruginienė is bad news for Lithuanians, not Russians.