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The President at a meeting of EU leaders with Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Strong support for Ukraine is Europe's priority

President of the Republic of Lithuania

March 06, 2025

During the special European Council, President Gitanas Nausėda, together with other European Union leaders, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the meeting, the leaders expressed their strong support for Ukraine.

"Ukraine's heroes are fighting every day for the freedom of all of Europe. Time is running out—we have to act now to secure Ukraine's victory, which is also Europe's victory. Ukraine needs to have a strong position in the negotiations and firm security guarantees," the Lithuanian leader said during the meeting.

The President stressed the need to increase pressure on Russia, emphasizing that the 17th package of sanctions must strike where it hurts the Kremlin the most. He urged European leaders to adopt the next sanctions package as soon as possible and called for finding ways to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's reconstruction. Gitanas Nausėda also underscored the importance of holding Russia accountable for its crime of aggression.

The Lithuanian leader welcomed the EEAS initiative to allocate over €20 billion in urgent military aid to Ukraine and encouraged European leaders to invest at least €10 billion in Ukraine's defense industry.

Gitanas Nausėda proposed that EU Member States commit a fixed percentage of their annual GDP to supporting Ukraine. Lithuania already dedicates no less than 0.25% of its GDP to Ukraine's security, and if other EU nations followed suit, it would mean significant additional support.

On potential negotiations, the President stated: "Ukraine's sovereignty is non-negotiable. There can be no discussions about Ukraine without Ukraine, and no discussions about Europe without Europe."

The Lithuanian leader also stressed the need for Ukraine to receive real, robust security guarantees. Gitanas Nausėda called for accelerating Ukraine's EU membership process, setting 1 January 2030 as the target date.

The President's Communication Group