„As someone who has worked in the field of human rights for many years, my advice to those who criticise our decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention is to wake up.
The real world has changed. We have a duty to protect our citizens, and we will use all the tools at our disposal to do so. If any means to do so are unavailable, we will create them.
Russian soldiers will never cross my border again“, is the message that Ms Šakalienė sent to Deutsche Welle this week.
The Minister was also asked how Ukraine's allies in the US and Europe should react and respond to the recent brutal Russian attacks, including one in Sumy.
Ms Šakalienė said that sad to say, she was not surprised by these attacks.
„This shows very clearly Russia's attitude that it does not want a ceasefire and, of course, it does not want peace. Why would it want that? It has been trying to destroy Ukraine for more than a decade,“ the MoD chief explained.
According to Ms Šakalienė, she is now discussing with her ministerial colleagues from other NATO countries and the region how to help Ukraine's army rebuild and provide more military support.
According to the Minister, the defence industry is not progressing as fast as one would like in Europe and NATO, while Russia is devoting the most attention and resources to its military industry.
However, according to Ms Šakalienė, there is little hope that the frustration that US President Donald Trump is now voicing with Russian leader Vladimir Putin will bear fruit. She stressed that only the US can stop Russia in principle.
„We were hoping that the White House would see what we are seeing – that Putin is not going to agree on a ceasefire“, she said.
Asked whether Washington could still force Russian President Putin to agree on a peace deal, Ms Šakalienė said, „That would be amazing.“ She also doubted the Ukrainians would agree to cede some of their territories to Russia.
„When we look at the way Ukrainians fight, when we look at their heroism and the sacrifices they make every day on the battlefield, I don't think Ukraine would say, 'Oh, you want some of our lands? Please, take it'.
But this is not just about Ukraine. We all understand that if such a precedent is set and the occupation is legitimised, it will change the entire global geopolitical landscape of the last seven decades.
It was agreed that no country's borders would be changed by force. Then this global agreement becomes worthless and empty“, said Ms Šakalienė.