I'm Lithuanian thus the post...
Russia’s attempts to destabilize society in Lithuania will backfire
In Ukraine, during a war that has already lasted longer than World War I, society has not fallen apart but has come together. The Ukrainian language and culture have been strengthened. Society has not become politically numb due to the war: just recently, Ukraine saw the largest wartime protests when Zelenskyy attempted to make reckless moves in domestic politics and restrict the independence of anti-corruption institutions. Following the protests, the decisions were reversed.
Investigations, arrests, and the fight against corruption are underway in Ukraine because it is in the long-term interest of national security: institutions must be resistant to corruption.
Over the past year, Ukraine has developed modern military solutions—which everyone is now analyzing, purchasing, copying, and learning from.
Most importantly: Ukrainian society has united, hates Russia even more, and is not prepared to “just end the war” at any cost.
In Lithuania, public sentiment toward Russia is already more negative than it was in Ukraine in 2022. Our resistance to corruption is stronger; we are a NATO member, have military integration, and possess a clear historical understanding of what Russian imperialism is.
We see the example of Finland nearby: a country with one of the most robust defense systems in Europe, a massive reserve, a comprehensive defense strategy, and full synchronization with NATO and the Nordic countries. Finnish President Alexander Stubb visited Lithuania quite recently. Also: regardless of election cycles, the Baltic states, the Nordic countries, Poland, and Ukraine are thinking along the same security lines, and this is evidenced by how much we have started spending on defense.
In principle, our success story—that of Lithuania, Ukraine, and Finland—is the result of Russia’s idiotic, aggressive, and utopian foreign policy that has lasted for a million years. It’s a classic scenario: They wanted to weaken us, but in reality, they achieved the opposite effect: we are only getting stronger, while Russia is only getting weaker.