Lithuania considering sending military instructors to Ukraine: Presidential adviser

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Lithuania may send military instructors to Ukraine, but it is not currently considering deploying peacekeepers, said the president’s chief foreign policy adviser, local media reported.

"We could really help Ukraine with instructors, no question about that. But we are not talking about sending any military contingents to Ukraine yet,” Asta Skaisgiryte told radio station Ziniu Radijas this week.

Skaisgiryte emphasized that ensuring the security of European peacekeeping troops is a key concern before moving forward with any deployment.

“EU countries could send peacekeepers to Ukraine, but the problem is the safety and lives of those peacekeepers. We certainly don’t want to lose our troops, so we should think of ways to protect them,” she said, adding that discussions on the issue are ongoing.

Leaders from several major European countries gathered in Paris on Monday at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss transatlantic relations, the situation in Ukraine and potential peace negotiations and European security.

US-European relations have grown tense after President Donald Trump initiated direct discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine peace talks, excluding European leaders.

At the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, confirmed that Europeans would not be invited to planned US-Russia talks on Ukraine peace.

Adding to the tension, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that European nations, rather than the US, should provide peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. He emphasized that any such deployment should be non-NATO and would not be covered under Article 5 of NATO’s collective defense clause, stressing that US troops would not be involved in any security guarantees.