Sending foreign troops to Ukraine would show Russian President Vladimir Putin that it is not up to him to decide how the West will help Kyiv. This was stated by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, The Guardian reports.

“Our troops trained Ukrainians in Ukraine before the war, and we have been doing this for many years. So a return to this tradition may be quite feasible. This could be the first step in President Macron's initiative,” he said.

According to the minister, the proposal to train Ukrainians within their own country was “more practical” than training on the territory of NATO member states.

“You don't need to transport them all over the world. You have everything they need right here. It may turn out that the instructors deployed within the coalition to train Ukrainians in Ukraine can be protected by air defense, and this, in turn, means that part of the Ukrainian sky can be protected by air defense,” Landsbergis emphasized.

According to him, this step “will show Putin that it is not up to him to decide how we will help Ukraine. Instead, we will see what is needed and adapt to the situation, because the situation is not getting better.”

Landsbergis said that statements about French President Emmanuel Macron's initiative have already worked, as the Kremlin has changed its calculations.