Russia is “practically” at war with Europe, the president of nearby Lithuania warned Saturday as she arrived at a European Union summit in Belgium.
“Russia is at war against Ukraine — and that is against a country which wants to be part of Europe,” said President Dalia Grybauskaite.
Lithuania and Ukraine were both part of the Soviet Union until its collapse two decades ago, and Grybauskaite has long taken a hawkish view of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s desire to extend his country’s sphere of influence.
“We need militarily to support and send military materials to Ukraine,” Grybauskaite urged.
Ukraine on Saturday gave up the town of Ilovaisk, which is between the eastern city of Donetsk and the Russian border. Rebels surrounded the town on all sides, prompting the government to plead for an escape corridor for its troops.
At least 2,600 people have been killed in the conflict so far. Russia has heatedly denied any involvement in the conflict, despite evidence rebels have been supplied with Russian weaponry and that regular Russian troops are involved in the fighting.
At the 28-nation summit in Brussels, Ukraine leader Petro Poroshenko warned that Russian incursions could lead to “full-scale war.”