„We do not rule out this version either, but we cannot say for sure yet,“ said K. Budrys on the LRT show „Dienos tema“, when asked if Moscow could have targeted diplomatic missions in the Ukrainian capital.
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„We know from the investigation material that these were missiles. There is no object (…) nearby, the closest object that Russia keeps trying to reach is a power plant located one and a half kilometers away,“ said the head of Lithuanian diplomacy.
„But everything else there are residential buildings, except for our embassy. Maybe that is the case, (the aim is) to apply pressure, to intimidate, but I can say – completely unsuccessfully. The determination has not decreased, but increased,“ he added.
As BNS wrote, during the Russian strikes on Saturday night, the embassy’s window frames were damaged, glass shattered, the roof and solar collectors on it were damaged. Employees were unharmed during the incident.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced that the mentioned damage was caused by two Russian missiles falling in the Pechersk district of Kyiv at distances of five and 150 meters from the embassy.
As a result, a strong protest was lodged to the Russian representative summoned to the MFA, emphasizing that Moscow’s actions grossly violate the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
„There was no apology and I will point out that the images I received from the embassy staff on Saturday morning showed that supersonic missiles were used in the attack,“ said K. Budrys.
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„Those that were designed to attack ships, the „Zircon“ missiles. (…) Well, these are terrible weapons, what is being attacked with them. We have no idea what was targeted there, because there is nothing in that area,“ the minister told the broadcaster.
According to him, the Russian representative expressed the position that Lithuania was warned about the threat rising to everyone in Kyiv. According to K. Budrys, Lithuania „treats such warnings as threats“.
Moreover, the protest note handed to the representative emphasizes that after a thorough assessment, Lithuania will demand Moscow compensate for the damage suffered during the shelling and „reserves the right to take other retaliatory measures against the Russian Federation“.
„We have measures planned that we could take in response to Russia’s actions directed against us. (…) I would not go into details now, but (…) we have the capabilities, tools, and will to defend ourselves if necessary,“ emphasized K. Budrys.
BNS reported that during the Russian strikes on Kyiv on Saturday night, at least nine civilians were killed and at least 27 were injured.
The attack was condemned by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. The latter expressed full solidarity with Lithuania.
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