VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) – Securing an end to the fighting in Ukraine must take place with Kyiv’s full involvement and come with more defense spending by regional countries to avoid any future Russian aggression, according to Lithuania’s president.
Gitanas Nauseda, the president of the Baltic coastal nation, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that a settlement negotiated without proper deterrent measures would allow Russia to consolidate its forces and prepare for further aggression in the region.
Nauseda said that even when a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine, “you cannot believe that the intentions of Russia will be just to stop and do nothing.”
“They will use this break in order to consolidate, to strengthen the military capabilities and to strike again in the future,” he told the AP in Vilnius. “And then the main question is, what will be the…
