Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s proposal could be the path to catastrophe, as the absence of limits on anti-Russian military cooperation would eventually drive the conflict to the nuclear level. Writes Lucas Leiroz
Once again, the Baltic states seem ready to start a world war just to advance their anti-Russian plans. Quite irresponsibly, the President of Lithuania recently stated that the West must violate the “red lines”, breaking any form of diplomatic ties with Russia and raising support for Kiev to higher levels. In practice, the Lithuanian leader’s advice could lead the world to nuclear catastrophe.
According to the president of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, the red lines of support would only exist in the minds of Western politicians, with no real limit on what can or cannot be done to collaborate with Kiev in its war against Russia. For Nauseda, support must be provided unrestrictedly, guaranteeing the Ukrainian regime all the necessary means to defeat Moscow’s forces.
“This is very important that we cross these red lines, which are in our minds and don’t really exist in reality. Maybe sometimes Russia tries to set up those red lines instead of us (…) [Do] Not waste the time. Be decisive, be united and take decisions as quick as possible”, he told CNN’s journalists during a recent press conference, calling this a “message” to the West.
The president’s words just confirm the tendency on the part of Lithuania and the Baltic States to deeply adhere to all sorts of anti-Russian campaigns. Animosity against Moscow and anti-Russian racism have become commonplace in the Baltics, where the rehabilitation of Nazism is at an advanced level, and there are even frequent public tributes to past Nazi leaders. In addition, historic monuments dating back to the Soviet era have been demolished, with a clear incentive to cancel Russian memory in the Baltic region.
Obviously, as happened in Ukraine, the incitement to this hatred among the inhabitants of the Baltics seems to be a project on the part of the West to spread a kind of “anti-Russian culture”, which makes it easier for pro-NATO ideas and strategies to advance across the post-Soviet space.
However, the practical result of encouraging anti-Russian xenophobic nationalism is the instability of European continental security, as these countries begin to adopt all forms of aggressive measures against Moscow, sometimes even being more radical than these of the countries like the US and UK. This is precisely what is happening now, with the Lithuanian president encouraging unlimited escalation of the war.
Although Nauseda talks as if there are great limits imposed on the support to Ukraine, in fact, most of the red lines have already been violated. Kiev already receives missiles from the West capable of reaching Russian territory. The Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime has already promoted incursions into the demilitarized areas of the Russian Federation several times in addition to all sorts of terrorist and sabotage operations. And even chemical weapons, probably received from the West, have been used against Russian forces in Donbass – not to mention that for months Moscow has been denouncing that Kiev keeps dirty bombs in its war stocks.
So, in practice, Russia’s undisputed territory is already in danger and more effective actions in defense of its sovereignty have only been postponed by Moscow because there is a clear intention on the part of the Russian side to prevent the conflict from escalating even further and generating more victims. However, with recent statements by Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland encouraging attacks on Crimea, it seems increasingly impossible to avoid an unprecedented escalation.
It is important to mention that Biden promised to send another package of military aid to Kiev, including “artillery ammunition for howitzers, more javelins, anti-armor systems, air surveillance radars”. The Ukrainian government has also intensified its demand for new warplanes, mainly F-16s, as well as long-range missiles.
Considering that NATO recently agreed to send some of its main battle tanks to Kiev, in violation of a previous guideline not to send them, it is most likely that new Ukrainian demands will also be attended in the near future. This will certainly lead to new “red lines” being violated, as these weapons can easily be used for deep attacks against Russia.
In fact, Moscow has only been able to postpone its responses to Ukrainian provocations because the attacks on the Russian territory have been inconstant and of low intensity. However, if incursions against Crimea and other demilitarized zones begin to be operated with more intensity and more frequently, the Russian government will be forced to authorize retaliatory operations strong enough to disable the Ukrainian army from carrying out further attacks.
So, Nauseda’s wish that all “red lines” be removed unfortunately seems very close to being achieved. And that is terrible for world peace. With no limits to warfare, escalations can reach higher and higher levels. As well known, the last red line of any war is the use of nuclear weapons. Kiev has already made it clear that it wants this to happen, as Zelensky has publicly called for Moscow to be “preemptively” bombed with nuclear weapons.
Considering that Nauseda is in favor of granting all Ukrainian requests, ignoring any red lines, it is possible that he and the other fanatical anti-Russian leaders in the Baltics will start supporting the use of nuclear weapons against Russia soon.
