‘Russia is ill’, – top Lithuanian diplomat responds to Russian opposition leaders
Source: Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis had strong words for Russian opposition leaders over their claims that the ‘unfair’ Western sanctions are hitting ordinary Russians.
His criticism comes days after Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was freed in a massive August 1 prisoner swap, argued that the sanctions should target exclusively Putin’s regime, as restrictive policies aimed at the Russian people are ‘counterproductive’ and are producing the opposite effect from the one intended. Similar sentiments have been echoed by Russian opposition figure Andrei Pivovarov, who claimed that ordinary Russians largely do not support Putin’s actions in Ukraine and blames the Kremlin’s “regime” for the war.
In his post on social media, Landsbergis called them out over the misleading ‘talk’:
“I hear talk of ordinary Russians’ innocence, but then I see ordinary Russians murdering ordinary Ukrainians. I see ordinary Russian mothers saying goodbye to their ordinary Russian sons and wishing them good luck with their ordinary Russian war crimes. I see ordinary Russians celebrating murder. I see ordinary Russian parents dressing up their ordinary Russian children in military uniforms and painting the letter Z on a cardboard tank costume.”
Russia is ‘ill,’ and it is at the core of the problem, said the minister, warning that “healing will be a long and gruelling process which can only start when Russia, not just Putin, is defeated. Without a defeat in Ukraine, Russia will just keep spreading.”
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.