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On 17 June, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a representative of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Lithuania and handed in a strong protest over the heavy shelling of Ukrainian cities by the Russian Armed Forces last night, which killed or injured dozens of civilians, destroyed and damaged residential houses, educational and cultural institutions. Residents of Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and other regions of Ukraine were affect by the terrorist attacks of the Russian armed forces, which may have involved the use of cluster bombs.

These attacks are part of Russia’s ongoing and recently intensified Russian terrorist campaign aganist Ukrainian civilians, as the country faces daily intense Russian missile and drone attacks deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. This systematic Russian terror only proves once again that Russia deliberately disregrads international law, maliciously escalates, and shows no interest in a ceasefire and peace. Therefore, the international community must intensify its pressure on Russia and provide all-around support to Ukraine.

The diplomatic note of protest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania draws attention, among other things, to the extremely cynical statement of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation that all the intended targets in Ukraine were destroyed. The document also underlines that Russia’s acts of aggression against Ukrainian civilians violate the fundamental norms of international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes for which there is no statute of limitations in bringing the perpetrators to justice.