Lithuania issues protest to Russia over continued strikes on Ukraine

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned a representative of the Russian Embassy and handed over a note of protest in response to continued strikes on Ukraine, despite a declared ceasefire initiative.

According to a statement from the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, the ceasefire, which was supposed to take effect on May 6 at 00:00, was violated within minutes. At 00:09, air raid sirens were once again heard across Ukraine.

The ministry also highlighted civilian casualties. On May 5, 12 people were killed, and 37 were injured in Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia. Following missile strikes on Dnipro, four people were killed, and 16 were wounded. Additional attacks were reported in other regions of Ukraine, including a drone strike on a kindergarten in Sumy, where one person was killed.

“The Russian Federation has clearly demonstrated through its actions that it is not interested in stopping the killing of civilians and ending hostilities,” the statement said.

Officials in Vilnius described the Kremlin’s proposed ceasefire for May 8–9 as a “formal and hypocritical action,” aimed more at facilitating a military parade than taking genuine steps toward peace.

Lithuania once again called on Russia to immediately “stop the aggression” against Ukraine, withdraw its troops from the entire internationally recognised territory of the country, and compensate for the damage caused by the war.

By Tamilla Hasanova