International

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy opens a visit to the Baltic nations, seeking more aid against Russia’s invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began a visit Wednesday to the Baltic countries, arriving in Lithuania as his country seeks to bolster its air defenses amid Russia’s intensified missile and drone onslaughts in the 22-month-old war, AP reports.

The focus of his two-day trip to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel, will be security concerns, Ukraine’s hopes to join the European Union and NATO, and building partnerships in drone production and electronic warfare capacities.

Zelenskyy thanked Lithuania for its military assistance and goodwill. He was expected in Estonia and Latvia on Thursday.

“We know how tiring this long-running war is, and we are interested in Ukraine’s complete victory in it as soon as possible,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters.

The small countries are among Ukraine’s staunchest political, financial and military supporters, and some in the Baltics worry that they could be Moscow’s next target.

They have pushed Kyiv’s other Western allies to provide increasingly sophisticated weapons since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The three countries were seized and annexed by Josef Stalin during World War II before regaining independence with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. They joined NATO in 2004, placing themselves under the military protection of the U.S. and its Western allies.

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