Lithuania–Ukraine relations are foreign relations between

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and Ukraine. Both countries are members of the

Lublin Triangle The Lublin Triangle ( lt, Liublino trikampis; pl, Trójkąt Lubelski; uk, Люблінський трикутник, Liublinskyi trykutnyk) is a regional alliance of three European countriesLithuania, Poland, and Ukrainefor the purposes of str ...

, OSCE,

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

, World Trade Organization and United Nations. Lithuania supports Ukraine's European Union and NATO membership.

History

Volodymyr Zelensky with Gitanas Nausėda - 2019

Ever since the rule of Gediminas in the 1300s much of present-day Ukraine was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Between 1569 and 1795 Poland and Lithuania formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth which incorporated much of what is now Ukraine. Following the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, the bulk of Lithuania and present-day Ukraine fell to the Russian Empire. Both countries formed part of the USSR ( Ukraine since 1922,

since 1944) until 1991. A number of agreements were signed in November 2009 including the mutual recognition of university qualifications and cooperation in preserving cultural heritage; furthermore, Lithuania promised assistance to Ukraine in its aspirations to become a member of the European Union. In 2014, the Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė voiced her support for Ukraine in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian War. In January 2015, Lithuania requested a United Nations Security Council meeting due to the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Later on, Vytautas Landsbergis declared that he believes the

Minsk agreement The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...

to be "worse than Munich". In 2021, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the importance of Lithuania's support for Ukraine's European Union and NATO aspirations, while the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda noted that Lithuania supports Ukraine's progress and welcomes reforms in Ukraine. Following the start of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Lithuania has strongly condemned the invasion and called for military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. In the prelude of invasion, on 13 February 2022, Lithuania sent FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems and ammunition to Ukraine. Military aid further continued and, according to the Lithuanian Minister of National Defence, as of 21 November 2022, the total aid to Ukraine amounted to €660 million, of which the military aid was €240 million.

Overview

According to the 2016 census, 17,679

ethnic Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

were living in Lithuania, mostly in Vilnius,

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Jonava, and

Visaginas Visaginas () is the centre of Lithuania's youngest municipality, located on the north-eastern edge of the country. It was built as a town for workers engaged in the construction of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Visaginas is the only town in L ...

. Moreover, Lithuania is a popular destination for the Ukrainian migrants and over 21,800 Ukrainians have work-based residence permits. The Ukrainians evaluate Lithuania positively. Over 7,000 ethnic Lithuanians are living in Ukraine and are represented by the Lithuanian community of Ukraine organization there. Lithuania consistently supports Ukraine in Russo-Ukrainian War.

Resident diplomatic mission

* Lithuania has an embassy in Kyiv. * Ukraine has an embassy in Vilnius. File:Embassy of Lithuania in Kyiv.jpg, Embassy of Lithuania in Kyiv File:Ukrainian embassy in Vilnius2.JPG, Embassy of Ukraine in Vilnius

References

External links

Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign affairs: list of bilateral treaties with Ukraine (in Lithuanian only)

Lithuanian embassy in Kyiv (in Lithuanian and Ukrainian only)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lithuania-Ukraine Relations Bilateral relations of Ukraine Ukraine

History

Overview

Resident diplomatic mission

See also

References

External links