- Ukrainians are dying to help protect European security, Lithuania's prime minister told Insider.
- That's why Ukraine should get the weapons it needs, including offensive weapons, she said.
Ukraine's allies should support Ukraine with whatever weapons it needs because Ukrainians are dying to protect Europe from Russia, Lithuania's prime minister said in an interview with Insider.
Ingrida Šimonytė spoke to Insider on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
She described Russia as a threat to Europe, and said Ukrainians are dying to protect the continent's security and should be given advanced offensive weaponry.
"We are not losing people. We're just losing some money. I say we are losing, [but] I think we are investing in a way, investing into our security," she said.
"The least thing we can do is to support Ukraine with anything it needs," she added.
Lithuania has been among Ukraine's strongest backers, and has advocated for giving the country advanced weapons, striking a much less cautious tone than many of its other allies.
Lithuania was sending Ukraine weapons even before Russia's invasion began last February, at a time when Ukraine was fighting Russian-backed separatists in its east.
Šimonytė said supporting Ukraine is an obvious human reaction, but also one that protects her country and Europe.
"It's sort of a cliche to say that Ukrainians are fighting this war for all of us," she added.
But "it is a very practical thing because President Zelenskyy actually says that bluntly: that if you want to stop Russia at the borders of Ukraine, you better provide Ukraine with all the weapons that Ukrainian army needs, because otherwise there might be no end to the war in Europe for a very significant period of time," she told Insider.
Lithuania, like its neighbors Latvia and Estonia, was once part of the Soviet Union, but is now a member of NATO and the EU.
All three countries warned of the growing risk from Russia before its invasion of Ukraine started, and have boosted their own defenses since, believing Russia could turn to other European countries if it wins in Ukraine.
While Ukraine's other backers have given more offensive weapons to Ukraine as the war progressed, Lithuania is urging them to send still more, including granting Ukraine's request for fighter jets.
Šimonytė said that the time taken for countries to debate whether to send such weapons "costs people lives."
She also stressed that arguments for only giving Ukraine defensive weapons don't make sense, because Ukraine can't push Russia out if it doesn't have the ability to attack.
"How can you push back the Russian army from the territory of Ukraine, which we all know should happen, if you do not have heavy weapons?"
In fact, she said the invasion proves the Western strategy for dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years — during which time his country attacked Georgia in 2008 and invaded eastern Ukraine and annexed the Crimea region — hasn't worked.
"The strategy before this invasion was appeasement: let us give him [Putin] something so that he would not do anything stupid. But it never worked," she said.
She added: "I think for the democratic leaders, there are no illusions anymore that you somehow can turn a blind eye on what is happening in Russia, because the signs of this coming should have been seen for a very long period."