Lithuania calls for fighter jets for Ukraine, as Hungary and Austria oppose any arms deliveries
Gitanas Nauseda believes that drawing new "red lines" in the issue of fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine is impractical (Photo:Gitanas Nausėda/facebook.com)
With debate now shifting to the supply of fighter jets to Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said he supports the transfer of all kinds of weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Speaking to television channel LRT TV on Jan. 30, Nausėda said that in the context of Russian aggression, it was inappropriate to talk about any "red lines" in this matter with regard to the Kremlin regime.
"I have seen many red lines that have been drawn, and sometimes I even have the impression that these red lines are not drawn by us, the Western countries, the democracies, but that it is the terrorist state of Russia that is trying to draw them through fear and threats, and it is trying to impose them," Nausėda said.
The Lithuanian leader noted that many Western countries, including Germany, had previously ruled out supplying Ukraine with anything more substantial than helmets and bulletproof vests, but now they are preparing to transfer heavily armored vehicles.
"This Rubicon has been crossed, so I do hope that this red line — if it really exists, and I think it exists only in our heads — will also be crossed," Nausėda said, emphasizing the extreme importance of military assistance to Ukraine "at this crucial stage in the war."
Hungary and Austria, on the other hand, are categorically opposed to providing any weapons to the Ukrainian army, according to the Österreich newspaper.
During a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Klaudia Tanner, the parties declared that military aid to Ukraine could lead to an "escalation.”
According to the Hungarian minister, this could result in the conflict spreading to other European states.
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