Note handed to a Russian representative over shelling of Ukraine
On 7 May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania summoned a representative of the Russian Embassy in Lithuania, who was handed a note of strong protest over the brutal shelling of Ukraine despite the initiative of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to introduce a ceasefire from 6 May and protect the lives of the Ukrainian people.
The ceasefire was due to begin from midnight on 6 May. It was broken in less than 10 minutes, with the sound of air-raid sirens erupting in Ukraine 9 minutes past midnight. As early as on 5 May, Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia killed 12 civilians and wounded 37 others, while rocket strikes in the city of Dnipro killed 4 civilians and wounded 16. Civilian casualties are also recorded in other regions of Ukraine. On the night of May 6, mass shelling of Ukrainian cities continued, and in the city of Sumy, fighter drones struck a kindergarten building, killing one person and injuring two others.
Through its actions, the Russian Federation has clearly demonstrated that it is not interested in stopping the killing of innocent people and putting an end to hostilities as soon as possible, the Lithuanian note states. The Kremlin's proposal for a ceasefire on 8-9 May is a formal and hypocritical act aimed at securing the possibility of holding a parade rather than stopping hostilities and shifting efforts to resolve the conflict to the negotiating table.
The note reiterated the request of the Republic of Lithuania that the Russian Federation immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine, withdraw its occupying forces from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine, and compensate all damage suffered by Ukraine as a result of the Russian aggression.
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