In a tight warehouse on the Neris River in a quiet area of ??the Lithuanian capital, Jonas Ochman and his team load boxes and bags without labels into the truck. The car will later overcome more than a thousand kilometers to reach the front line in the East of Ukraine.
The Washington post writes about this today, adding that the Swedish volunteer is headed by the so-called "Yellow-Blue Movement", which helps the Ukrainian army in the fight against pro-Russian forces, transferring non-lethal military assistance, such as night vision devices, helmets, body armor and sniper sights.
"If we do not help stop the Russians in Ukraine, they will come after us at the end," Okhman said, responding simultaneously to a call from the front and checking whether the previous delivery was successful.
The latest brutal fighting in the East of Ukraine once again reminded the world of a bloody conflict, but many in the Baltic States are well aware of clashes, destruction, deaths and suffering. The newspaper writes that since the war in the Donbas broke out, Lithuania and other Baltic countries began sending millions of euros of aid from both governments and those gathered at various charitable events. Hundreds of wounded soldiers are being treated in Lithuanian hospitals, and children from the conflict zone have taken refuge in the Baltic countries, where they again go to school.
Lithuania has no common borders with Ukraine, but it borders with Russia, more precisely with the Kaliningrad region, which Moscow uses as the main military base in the Baltic region. This common border extends only 300 kilometers, but Lithuania, as well as Latvia and Estonia, well remembers five decades of Soviet occupation. Countries in the region are still suspicious of Moscow, despite the fact that they have been using NATO membership for 13 years. Lithuanians are afraid that the war in Ukraine may be a harbinger of Russian ambitions to seize their country.
Volunteer Okhman, who several times was at the front, assures that the team's assistance is "directly into the hands of the soldiers and troops that need it most".
"We have been working in Ukraine for several years now.. We know what is needed, to whom and how to ensure this, "Okhman said..
"Ukrainians are happy when we come. Even though we do not always have many things, they are grateful not only for help, but also for attention, "he added..
The Lithuanian government knows about the activities of the volunteer group and does not consider it illegal. Despite the complexity of the rules of export, which differ in different countries, there is technically no international ban on transferring aid to Ukraine. The SIPRI says that the activities of international volunteers are likely to be legal.
Another volunteer Kotryna Stasinskayaite told the publication that she had the impression that people in other regions of Ukraine are not interested in the struggle of their own country.
"I saw a lot of shabby, rich people on the streets of Kiev. They do not care about all the violence and tragedy that is happening in their own country, "she said..
The publication writes that the latest poll conducted by Rait shows that 63% of Lithuanians support efforts to help Ukraine. Recently, a charity concert gathered 110 thousand euros for this. The Government of Lithuania is also helping. According to Foreign Minister Linas Linkevichus, the country officially transferred 8.5 million euros to Ukraine.
"A similar historical past makes the people of Lithuania and Ukraine very close. We are united by a similar struggle for independence and the same challenges, "he said..
Meanwhile, in Lithuania, there were held exercises to repel the attack of "green men".
According to the legend of the exercises, the forces of special operations of the unfriendly Lithuania of the Udiya state illegally crossed the border and were going to seize one of the frontier posts, as well as the police commissariat in the city of Shalchininkai on the border with Belarus.
Lithuania considers Russia capable of launching an invasion of the Baltic States in 24 hours. In Vilnius, it is pointed out that NATO does not have enough speed in making decisions to confront potential aggression.