Lithuanian envoy favours EU sending troops to Ukraine without NATO approval

European countries do not need NATO's consent to send troops to Ukraine, the Lithuanian ambassador to the North Atlantic Alliance, Deividas Matulionis, said.

“It [sending troops to Ukraine] can be national decisions, a group of countries, a coalition that wants to join this initiative. It is not necessary to have NATO's approval or tag here,” he noted, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

The diplomat also admitted that sending Western countries' militaries to Ukraine was only an idea so far, and added that the foreign ministers of NATO member states might raise this topic again at the upcoming meeting in Brussels.

"First of all, the process of training troops depends on them, and perhaps some countries will join sooner or later.

Earlier, the head of the North Atlantic Alliance's military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said that Russia's nuclear potential was holding back NATO troops from being sent to Ukraine, as many countries of the military bloc feared possible consequences. He also recalled that Russia's nuclear arsenal is the largest in the world.

By Khagan Isayev