Lithuania's chief diplomat becomes first foreign minister to visit Kherson since its 2022 liberation
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, together with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, has visited the city of Kherson and the oblast.
Source: Budrys and Sybiha on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda
Details: Sybiha stated that Budrys is the first foreign minister to visit the city since its liberation in autumn 2022.
"This is a powerful sign of solidarity with our people amid constant Russian terror against Kherson," Sybiha tweeted.
Details: The foreign ministers visited a critical infrastructure facility, an underground school and a maternity hospital. They also paid tribute to the defenders of Kherson.
They spoke with Kherson residents, met with local authorities, discussed urgent needs and focused on specific initiatives to expand international assistance to the city.
"Devastation, destroyed cities, schools, hospitals and broken lives," Budrys stated. "'Human Safari', heavy shelling and drones' attacks – hundreds killed and thousands injured. This is the reality of what people of Kherson live with today."
Budrys added that he and Sybiha had also visited Mykolaiv Oblast.
Quote from Budrys: "Everywhere we went – we saw just inhuman cruelty and crimes of Russian aggression. And this is happening in the 21st century. All those responsible for the crimes against humanity must be held accountable and face justice. Impunity leads nowhere else than to more aggression and cruelty."
Background:
On 9 June, Budrys arrived in Kyiv on an official visit.
Budrys shared that he had travelled to the Ukrainian capital through a "shower of missiles and drones" launched by Russia.
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