Russia took advantage of war in Israel to resume its offensive in Ukraine – Lithuanian foreign ministry

Europe must continue to focus on the situation in Ukraine, says Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.

Russia was waiting for international attention to be focused on the conflict between Israel and Hamas to take advantage and renew its offensive against Ukraine, Landsbergis said in Luxembourg before the start of the meeting of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, Ukrinform reports.

"We cannot forget and look away from Ukraine, where the situation is not the easiest. We saw that Russia renewed its offensive. It reminded us that Russia expects situations like this where we can divert our attention to something else and reduce the focus on these attacks," said the Lithuanian government official. "My main hope is that we will be able to send a clear message through continued funding that Europe is committed to supporting Ukrainian defense goals." 

He said that for the first time in a long time, European ministers would start discussions not from Ukraine but from the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine to work out a constructive and understandable position. 

According to the minister, the EU must prove that it is an important partner in solving this crisis, which also concerns European security and protection of the same principles of international law that the European Union defends in Ukraine.

Landsbergis said Europe must learn to respond to many crises simultaneously. Europeans can be proud of what they have already done to support Ukraine, but they are forced to respond to other crises, such as the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a potential new outbreak of confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and others; these issues are also on the agenda today ministerial meeting.

"By definition, Ukraine is a priority, the main conflict. This is happening on our border, and it is about the principles that we stand for," Landsbergis added. "I would even call this situation the 'mother of all conflicts' of the 21st century. If we can solve this, if we can preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its independence, we can expect that the world will return to normality and stability."

As reported, the Council of EU Foreign Ministers is taking place in Luxembourg today, the main topics of which are the situation in the Middle East and continued support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression.