24 September 2025

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda spoke at the Fifth Summit of the Crimean Platform

“Neither is this the time to talk about the easing of sanctions, a weak international response to the occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 enabled Russia’s full-scale war in 2022,” Gitanas Nausėda, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, declared.

President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, in his address at the Fifth Summit of the Crimea Platform, emphasized that Crimean residents, particularly the local Tatar population, face arbitrary detentions, politically motivated persecutions, and suppression of independent institutions. He underlined the erasure of Ukrainian identity through language bans and forced assimilation, as well as torture, sexual violence, and denial of medical care for detainees.

Gitanas Nausėda stressed that supporting Ukraine means defending the core principles of the UN Charter. Lithuania called for the immediate release of all illegally detained citizens and appealed to the international community to ensure that their voices are heard.