Baltic speakers to speaker of House of Representatives: US aid to Ukraine is indispensable

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Photo: Kent Nishimura / Getty Images North America / Getty Images via AFP / Scanpix

Estonian parliament speaker Lauri Hussar together with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts sent a joint letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, in which they underlined that the Russian threat continues to be imminent and said that US aid to Ukraine is indispensable now that Europe is building up its ability to defend itself.

Hussar, Latvian parliament speaker Daiga Mierina and Lithuanian parliament speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen thanked Johnson for his personal leadership in setting the path for the Congress to demonstrate historic bipartisan unity in support of the collective efforts to assist Ukraine.

«Europe is taking historic steps to strengthen its defense capabilities, but this inevitably takes time -- time that Ukraine does not have. That is why US aid is indispensable at this crucial juncture before Europe’s ability to defend itself has come into its own and we do even more to help Ukraine,» they said.

The speakers expressed hope that the Congress would make the right decision and approve the assistance package to Ukraine that it so urgently needed, for the sake of standing up to tyrants and aggressors and for the sake of our collective security.

«Supporting Ukraine is an investment in our collective secure future. As you yourself put it, there are moments in time when we simply have to do the right thing, even if it is difficult,» they pointed out in the letter sent to the speaker of the House of Representatives.

According to the Baltic speakers, our joint assistance has helped to stop the aggressor and liberate a large share of previously occupied territories of Ukraine, but the threat of Russia continues to be imminent. This is why they welcome the US' convincing leadership and dedication to freedom and security in Europe.

«Today, the world is rapidly moving towards the destruction of the world order. We feel this more and more every day in Europe as Russia and other malign actors use every and all, including hybrid, tools at their disposal to destabilize us. We see it as our responsibility and our task to prevent this descent into chaos and impunity,» they said.

The Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian speakers pointed out that their countries are committed to further increasing their support to Ukraine and its defense forces, seeing it as a considerable investment in our individual and collective security.

«The axis of evil must be defeated, and all perpetrators brought to justice. This will serve as a significant deterrent to further conflicts and will return a sense of control and security to our peoples,» they said.