Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s temporary chargé d’affaires on 31 July, following massive strikes on Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, according to a statement from the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Russian representative received a protest note regarding strikes on Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and other Ukrainian oblasts that killed dozens and wounded hundreds of civilians, the ministry reported.
The statement follows a Russian missiles and drones attack that ripped through Kyiv overnight on 31 July, collapsing apartment buildings and setting fires in several districts of the city. The attack killed at least 15 civilians and injured over 130 people. Russian missile struck an apartment building kin one of the Kyiv’s disctrict, collapsing its entire section.
The Lithinuan FM wrote in the statement after the morning attack that “Russia’s military actions against Ukraine’s civilian population and systematic cruel treatment of prisoners of war are unacceptable and illegal.
Lithuania pledged to continue efforts to ensure those responsible for these and other war crimes face criminal prosecution.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys called for “increased pressure” on Russia and its partners following the deadly strike on the Ukrainian capital.
The Russian attack was also condemned by Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, whose country currently chairs the OSCE, and her Estonian counterpart Margus Tsahkna.