Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has called for increased international pressure on Russia following missile strikes that killed nine people across several Ukrainian cities and caused a fire at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
"It is high time to increase international pressure on Russia to end this war," Nausėda wrote on X on Monday, saying the attack showed an "insane disregard for human lives, cultural heritage, and the very spiritual tradition."
Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys echoed the call ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, where a new package of sanctions against Russia is under discussion.
"Especially today, having seen the images of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra still in flames, what more is needed for us to pull ourselves together and say: look, there can be no normal dialogue here, no conversation. We must apply pressure and do what works. Sanctions work," he said.
Budrys argued that the proposed 21st sanctions package lacks sufficient ambition.
The package currently under consideration includes an EU entry ban for Russians who have fought in Ukraine, maintains the Russian oil price cap, and targets cryptocurrency exchanges used to circumvent existing restrictions.
The Council of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church, which, unlike the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, remains under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, also expressed grief over the damage.
"The damage to this sanctuary causes pain to every Orthodox Christian, regardless of their country of residence, nationality or ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Furthermore, for the faithful, this is a deeply troubling spiritual sign," it said, calling for an immediate end to the shelling of cities, a cessation of hostilities and the start of peace negotiations.
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is a centuries-old golden-domed monastery complex regarded as one of the most sacred sites in Orthodox Christianity.
It has been at the centre of a broader dispute over the Russian Orthodox Church's influence in Ukraine since the Orthodox Church of Ukraine split from the Russian Orthodox Church in 2022, and in 2024 the Ukrainian government banned its Moscow-linked branch. The Russian Orthodox Church has provided full backing to President Vladimir Putin since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Updated: added commentary from Lithuanian Orthodox Church.
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