Lithuania renames road leading to Russian embassy in Vilnius as 'Ukrainian Heroes Street'

In protest to Russia's continuing aggression in Ukraine, Lithuanian authorities have changed the address of the Russian embassy in the capital Vilnius to "Ukrainian Heroes Street." In a statement released on Facebook on March 3, Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Simasius informed that the business card of each employee of the Russian Embassy will have the note to "honour Ukraine's heroes." Simasius went on to add that while writing the letter to the embassy, people will think about the actions of the Russian administration against neighbour Ukraine. 

"From now on, the business card of every Russian Embassy employee will have to honor Ukrainian heroes. And everyone who writes a letter to the embassy will have to think about the victims of Russian aggression and the heroes of Ukraine," Remigijus Simasius said in a statement.

Vilnius Mayor Simasius took to his official Twitter handle to share the picture of the sign that indicates the name of the street, now changed to honour the victims of the Ukraine invasion. In the statement, he noted that until now, the street leading from Latvian street to the embassy was not provided a name, however, they had now decided to name it "Ukraine's Heroes Street" to honour the war victims. He mentioned that he had spoke to Minister of Transport Marius Skoodzis regarding the issue. He further added that the address of the Russian Embassy will now be known as "Ukrainian Heroes Street." The decision of Lithuanian authorities comes as the Russian aggression in Ukraine transcends into the 15th consecutive day after Russian President Putin on February 24 launched a military operation in the Donbass region.

'Russia’s unprovoked military actions shattering peace in Europe': Lithuania President  

Earlier on March 7, Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda, while speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, lauded him and all the people of Ukraine for resisting the Russian invasion. He also assured Zelenskyy that they were making efforts to assist Ukraine amid the military action of Russia. Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda on Monday held a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss Russia’s military aggression against Kyiv and the subsequent threats that it pose to the security of the Baltic States. 

During the said meeting, Nauseda underscored that Russia’s "unprovoked and unjustified military actions" were threatening peace in Europe and called for ending Kremlin's actions through the collective efforts of the West. He stressed that they needed to help Ukraine by all possible means including military measures. He called Russia a "long term threat" to NATO allies and Europe and emphasized that the threat will continue irrespective of the result of the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine. Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda underlined that they need to strengthen their defence. During the meeting, Blinken and Gitanas Nauseda discussed strengthening defence capabilities in the Baltic regions which included air defence. 

"The President underlined that Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military actions were shattering peace in Europe and had to be stopped by collective Western efforts," the President's office said in a statement. 

Image: Twitter/@RemiSimasius