Lithuanian Defense Minister Juozas Olekas
© AFPLitauens forsvarsminister, Juozas Olekas (tv) ved en pressekonference i Litauens hovedstad, Vilnus, den 22. august 2016.
Litauen har leveret omkring 150 tons ammunition til Ukraine for første gang siden 2014, meddelte en talsmand for landets generalstab (Eng: Joint Chiefs of Staff)

En ikke navngivet talsmand fortalte Reuter lørdag, at Vilnius dagen før havde leveret et parti ammunition, mest 5,45 kaliber patroner beregnet til forskellige udgaver af Kalashnikov AK-47 riflen, til de Ukrainske myndigheder.

Litauens forsvarsminister Juozas Olekas sagde, "Vi sender en besked til Ukraine om, at det ikke er alene."

Litauen har vedholdende hjulpet Ukraine i sin kamp for territorial integritet og i forsvaret af dets værdier, og vi vil gerne hjælpe så meget som vi kan."


Kommentar: Delvis oversat af Sott.net fra Lithuania supplying Ukraine with lethal weaponry. Spørgsmålet er i hvilken sammenhæng man også kan se dette skridt, eftersom: Is war on the horizon as Germany prepares for the worst?

Undersøger man de våben, som Litauens infanteri benytter i dag, så bruger de ikke længere ammunition til Kalashnikov AK-47, de har nemlig investeret i våben fra USA, Tyskland, Israel, Østrig, Belgien, Polen, Italien, Sverige, Frankrig og Finland. Udvidelsen af Nato har været en god forretning.

Men hvem er det nu, at Litauen og NATO støtter i Ukraine: Are there Neo-Nazis in Ukraine?

Mht. Konflikten i Ukraine er der også nyt på dansk, idet der i 2016 er udkommet to bøger, der dækker konflikten fra forskellige perspektiver, den første fra et overordnet historisk og politisk perspektiv den anden fra et menneskeligt.

Jens Jørgen Nielsen: Ukraine i spændingsfeltet, som man kan læse om i en artikel på Kritisk Debat skrevet af forfatteren selv samt anmeldelser på Historie Online på Arbejderen og på Modkraft.

Matilde Kimer: Krigen indeni. som man kan læse om i interview på Berlingske, på Politiken og hvis man har abonnement kan man læse artikler også på Information og Kristelig Dagblad. Matilde fortalte om bogen på DR4 søndag den 4 september 2016.

Litauen har nemlig næppe besluttet sig for at sende ammunition til Ukraine uden at have konsulteret sig med NATO, selv om det også kan være at der er andre kontakter på spil, fx Anders Fogh Rasmussen, der er en varm fortaler for NATOs og USA's version af demokrati, som man kan se af hans FB side, hvoraf det fremgår at han snart udgiver en bog med titlen The Will to Lead - America's indispensable role in the global fight for freedom. Viljen til at lede kommer til udtryk på følgende måde:
Rasmussen: NATO to re-arm Ukraine, ''Lethal Weapons''
September 4th, 2016 - Fort Russ News - DNR News - translated by J. Flores -
" Former NATO Secretary General, Advisor to the President of Ukraine, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the West will give Ukraine lethal weapons in the event that Russia "destabilizes eastern Ukraine."

"Ukraine is not a member of NATO and, therefore, the Alliance has no obligations to Ukraine's security. However, if Russia will not fulfill the Minsk agreement, if it continues to destabilize eastern Ukraine, I think it's time for the West and for NATO to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons. And then the Ukrainian military will be able to better defend against Russian aggression", Rasmussen said, in an interview with "Apostrof", released on Sunday. Her er mere om Anders Fogh Rasmussens rolle i det hele taget:
Anders Fogh Rasmussen lever i en besynderlig verden: NATO og dets medlemslandes støtte til Ukraine er i øvrigt ikke noget nyt : Jens Jørgen Nielsen skriver i sin artikel i Kritisk Debat; og det bliver afslutningen på denne kommentar:
Hvis Ukraine havde været alene i verden, så havde konflikten mellem de to hovedgrupperinger i landet næppe kørt så langt ud, som tilfældet har været. Den interne ukrainske konflikt har hentet næring fra en anden konflikt, nemlig den større fortælling om på den ene side, NATO's og EU's udvidelse og Ruslands modstand. Eller måske rettere USA's kamp for at bibeholde sin position som verdens ledende magt, 'the indispensable nation'. I den kamp har USA presset EU ind i en juniorrolle i forholdet til Rusland. Ukraine krisen har også sat EU's udenrigspolitik og sammenhængskraft på prøve. En prøve, man næppe kan påstå, at unionen har bestået.

He also noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine has done much to strengthen its defenses.

"Ukraine is not a member of NATO and, therefore, the Alliance has no obligations to Ukraine's security. However, if Russia will not fulfill the Minsk agreement, if it continues to destabilize eastern Ukraine, I think it's time for the West and for NATO to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons. And then the Ukrainian military will be able to better defend against Russian aggression", Rasmussen said, in an interview with "Apostrof", released on Sunday.
He also noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine has done much to strengthen its defenses. "

This is the second time Lithuania, a member of NATO and neighbor of Russia, has supplied Ukraine with lethal weaponry reportedly in an attempt to prevent the conflict in eastern Ukraine from spilling over into the Lithuanian territory.

In April 2015, Russia accused Lithuania of violating the international Arms Trade Treaty as well as agreements of the European Union and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in supplying Kiev with ammunition, a complaint which was sent to the Lithuanian embassy in Moscow but was strongly rejected by Vilnius.

"We have supplied help to the Ukrainian army in small quantities and openly," said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Antanas Linkevicius at the time, accusing Moscow of having a hand in the conflict and supplying weaponry to pro-Russians in eastern Ukraine. Moscow strongly denies the allegation.

Two months later, Lithuania's Ambassador to Ukraine Marius Yanukonis reiterated Vilnius' stance in supporting Kiev through supplying it with ammunition, saying, "We are ready to help Ukraine by all means, especially military."

Trucks carry 2S7 Pion 203-mm self-propelled guns
© AFPTrucks carry 2S7 Pion 203-mm self-propelled guns during a military parade in Kiev, Ukraine, on August 24, 2016, to celebrate the Independence Day, 25 years since Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union.
Linkevicius on August 29 also called for the EU sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine to remain as long as the situation on the ground does not improve.

The small Baltic country has also invited injured Ukrainian troops for receiving medical care in Lithuanian hospitals and has sent military instructors to Kiev.

Ukraine has faced diminishing military and financial support from the Western countries over the past year as the United States and governments in Europe say they are not satisfied with the degree of progress Kiev has made in reforming its economy and getting rid of the vested interests that existed before 2014, when a Russian-backed leadership was in power.

Two armed pro-Russia forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic
© AFPTwo armed pro-Russia forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) stand in front of the destroyed Donetsk International Airport, in Donetsk, Ukraine, June 1, 2016.
People in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea voted for rejoining the Russian Federation in a referendum in March 2014. The West branded the move as Moscow's annexation of the territory. The United States and its allies in Europe accuse Moscow of having a hand in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia, however, strongly denies the charges.

In April 2014, the government in Kiev launched the first round of military operations in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which are populated mostly by pro-Russians, to crush anti-government protests there.

Violence decreased after a ceasefire agreement was reached in February 2015. However, sporadic clashes continued.

The crisis in eastern Ukraine has left nearly 9,500 people dead and over 21,000 others injured, according to the United Nations.