Lavrov calls arms supplied to Ukraine a “legitimate target”

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Slovakia providing air defence systems to Ukraine is a no-go, according to an article on Euractiv. This week Bratislava said it was considering sending Soviet-era S-300 missile systems if it received Western replacements from its NATO allies. Any arms supply to Ukraine would be considered a “legitimate target”, Lavrov said.

Euractiv notes that Slovakia has one battery of the S-300 air defence system, and would expect to get US-made Patriot missile defences as part of a new NATO battle group that has just been agreed to be deployed in the country as part of NATO’s reinforcements on the alliance’s eastern flank. 

Saying he aims to “de-Russify” the economy, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has unveiled a set of economic measures that includes investments in his country’s energy independence as well as curbing high food costs, reports Notes from Poland.

Towards the latter, and to avoid what he termed “gas blackmail”, the PM said Poland would recapitalise gas pipeline infrastructure concern Gaz-System with an over EUR 640 million investment, expand the Swinoujscie liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and build a floating storage and regasification unit in Gdansk. Meanwhile, the “Baltic Pipe” project bringing gas from Norway to Poland is nearing completion.

Latvia’s Parliament is calling for a no-fly zone above Ukraine’s territory to protect civilian lives and guarantee the safety of that country’s nuclear power plants, writes Baltic News Network. In addition to support for those sentiments the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Saeima voiced full support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for those defending them on Thursday.

In part a response to Ukraine’s urging of others to instil a no-fly zone on 28 February, deputies in the Saeima determined that Russia tactics and weaponry have been inhumane, attacking civilians and non-military structures, approved statements from the UN General Assembly’s resolution on Russian aggression in Ukraine and expressed support for opening up humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians there, among others. Earlier this week, Estonia’s Parliament passed a resolution urging EU and NATO member states to establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine as well as supporting Kyiv in joining both bodies.

Source: Notes from Poland, Baltic News Network, Euractiv