“During the first visit, when the first month of the war was marked, there was a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. There is plenty of that even today when the city can be hit by strikes any time, when it is drowning in darkness and no less uncertainty,” she said in a Facebook post.
The Seimas later issued a press release stating that a Lithuanian delegation led by Cmilyte-Nielsen was attending a session of the Assembly of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in Kyiv.
According to Cmilyte-Nielsen, the renewed activity of the bilateral parliamentary assembly can become an important tool providing political and practical parliamentary assistance to Ukraine, which is fighting for freedom and seeking integration into the European Union and NATO.
She noted that during her first visit to Ukraine, shortly after the Kremlin’s invasion, the country “was recovering from its first experiences, while today it has painful scars already. And not one.”
“However, there certainly has been no lack of faith in a free future, either then or even so now,” Cmilyte-Nielsen stressed.
In Ukraine, she met with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of Verkhovna Rada, and visited Bucha, Irpin and Borodianka.
During her meeting with Stefanchuk, the Lithuanian Seimas speaker stressed that the need for parliamentary solidarity with Ukraine and for support was particularly acute now, when Russia deliberately intensified its strikes against Ukrainian cities, civilians and civil infrastructure.
“I stated during the meeting that Lithuania sees that as a yet another proof of Russia’s war crimes and will seek to hold those responsible to account. Moreover, we are working with our EU partners on the ninth package of sanctions that would provide for additional restrictive measures against Russia,” she said.
She also emphasized the importance of launching Ukraine's EU accession negotiations as soon as possible.