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On 24 February, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis attended the OSCE Permanent Council's extraordinary meeting, strongly condemned Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine, and expressed full support for and solidarity with Ukraine.

Landsbergis stressed that Russia had targeted Ukraine's critical infrastructure and civilians as part of this aggression. Russian troops are committing the most terrible war crimes against the Ukrainian population.

"Despite the hatred spread by Russia and the unprecedented destruction by the Russian army, one thing has been obvious since the first day of this war: the will of the people of Ukraine to defend themselves. The Russian army's losses in this war continue to mount. And it loses to a nation that, according to a distorted Russian ideology, does not even have the right to exist," the head of Lithuania's diplomacy praised the Ukrainians' determination to defend themselves.

Lithuania's Foreign Minister underlined that Lithuania would continue fully supporting Ukraine, which had defended itself against Russian aggression. Landsbergis also called on the international community to strengthen its political, military and financial support for Ukraine.

"We have to help Ukraine even more and change our thinking. Instead of thinking that "we must help Ukraine withstand next month", we should say, "we must help Ukraine reclaim its lands and push the aggressor out of the whole territory within its borders." We have every opportunity for that. All we need is our political will and determination," Landsbergis noted.

Landsbergis stressed that peace would return to the European continent not through a dialogue with the aggressor pushed by some countries and their politicians but after the aggressor is defeated. "It is high time we realized that peace on our continent will only be possible once Ukraine has won. When all Russian officials responsible for this war, including the Kremlin's leadership, will be held accountable, Russia will compensate Ukraine for all the damage caused, and Europe's eastern flank will be adequately protected from future invasions by the aggressor," Landsbergis said.

"Every time I hear a public call for issuing visas to sanctioned Russian representatives to come to the OSCE events, my answer is short — they must be issued visas not for a trip to Vienna, but to the Hague," Landsbergis said.

The Foreign Minister called on the OSCE to actively defend the fundamental principles of the OSCE enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act — sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, and the non-use of force - which Russia continued to violate concerning Ukraine shamelessly. Support for Ukraine reflects how vital all these principles are to us.

Aggression against Ukraine erupted in 2014 when Russia occupied and illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and launched hostilities in eastern Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine.