Last week, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite called Russia a "terrorist state" engaged in "open aggression against its neighbor," warning that the conflict could spread further if not stopped. On Monday, it was announced that Lithuania will begin supplying military aid to Ukraine.
Also on Monday, Lithuania accused Russia of blocking its vehicles and goods at the Russian border, according to Reuters.
"Lithuania is one of the countries that recently walked a difficult road towards the restoration of independence. We know that today Ukraine is fighting for peace in Europe, for all of us," Grybauskaite said during an interview with national radio.
"If a terrorist state that is engaged in open aggression against its neighbor is not stopped, then that aggression might spread further into Europe."
Despite accusations to the contrary, Russia continues to maintain that it has no troops on the ground in Ukraine, The Baltic Times reported.
"Lithuania, as other European countries, understands that peace has to be fought for, peace has to be defended, and independence and sovereignty are untouchable. Every nation has a right to have its own state and no one can dictate how it should live, regardless of whether a country is big or small. Hence we must clearly tell the current Kremlin and the current Russian leadership that such actions will never be tolerated," Grybauskaite said.
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman responded to the accusations, and said, "Political wisdom is determined not by an obsessive desire to provoke conflicts and insult neighbors, but by the ability to find constructive solutions based on the real situation that has established itself in Ukraine, and for which foreign politicians should share the blame. It would be better if the Lithuanian president stopped suffering from complexes over her Soviet past that apparently make her feel 'holier than the Pope.'"
Following a meeting with Grybauskaite and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, an arrangement was announced Monday that will see Lithuania supplying the Ukrainian army with armaments.
It's unclear whether aid will come in the form of lethal or non-lethal equipment. Lithuania's president said the country would also provide Ukraine with the knowledge to build a modern army, and invited more Ukrainian representatives to study at the Military Academy of Lithuania, according to Russia Today.
Russia reaffirmed its position regarding the U.S. and Ukraine on Friday, saying that should Washington decide to move from supplying "non-lethal aid" to supplying "defensive lethal weapons," the decision would be viewed as a "very serious signal" and a direct violation of agreements.
In a September interview with The Washington Post, Grybauskaite said Russia is of comparable danger to that of the Islamic State.
It was announced in November that the U.S. will maintain troop presence in Poland and the Baltic states for at least the next year to provide oversight regarding tensions with Russia. Several hundred troops are stationed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
