Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday labeled Russia a terrorist country and recognized its actions in Ukraine as genocide.
Why it matters: This makes Lithuania the first country in the world to call Russia a sponsor and executor of terrorism, Ukraine Center for strategic communication and information security tweeted.
Game Status: Lithuania’s unicameral parliament unanimously adopted the two-track resolution, according to a statement published on its Facebook page.
- “The war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is a genocide perpetrated by Russia against the Ukrainian nation. The Russian Federation is a country that supports and carries out terrorism,” the statement said.
What you say: The resolution said Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukrainian cities such as Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Borodyanka and Hostomel, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) reported.
- Parliament “recognizes the full-scale armed aggression – war – against Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation and its political and military leadership… as genocide against the Ukrainian people,” it added.
- The resolution also declared that Russia “whose military forces knowingly and systematically attack civilian targets is a state that supports and perpetrates terrorism.”
The big picture: Last week, Ukraine’s Attorney General Iryna Venediktova told the US-Helsinki Commission that Russia had committed nearly 10,000 war crimes over the course of the war.