Asta Chaladauskiene

Lithuanian diplomat, passionate multilateralist, advocate of EU values, disgusted by Russia’s war against Ukraine. Currently posted in Tokyo. Personal views.

[Marion Van Renterghem @MarionVanR]

L’immense Marjane Satrapi, auteure franco-iranienne de la géniale bande dessinée autobiographique Persepolis, vient de mourir “de tristesse”, est-il écrit, à 56 ans.

Réécouter son hymne bouleversant à la révolte des Iraniens pour leur liberté volée - et oubliée. Barayeh.

[Kęstutis Budrys @BudrysKestutis]

We have just witnessed one of the most horrific nights in recent years in #Ukraine, as Russia deliberately shelled Kyiv, as well as cities in the Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Sumy, and Khmelnytskyi regions, using hundreds of drones and missiles.

Deliberately targeting civilians, the strikes hit apartment buildings, shopping centres, markets, dormitories, schools, universities, and warehouses. The continued commission of war crimes against Ukraine is not an act of strength; on the contrary, it is a disguised sign of the aggressor’s weakness and desperation.

It is difficult to find the right words to respond to such a complete denial of humanity. But 🇺🇦 does not need our words - it needs our actions. We have the necessary tools to force Russia to stop its war of aggression. Failure to fully use them is a clear encouragement for the war to continue.

[駐日欧州連合代表部🇪🇺 @EUinJapan]

🇪🇺フォン・デア・ライエン欧州委員会委員長は20日、ロシアがドローン飛行などで公然と #バルト3国 を威嚇していることについて、これを断じて容認できないと述べた。

ある #EU 加盟国への脅威は、全EUへの脅威であり、欧州は団結と強固な姿勢をもってこれに対抗し、東部方面を防衛する

[駐日リトアニア🇱🇹大使Aurelijus Zykas オーレリウス・ジーカス @AurelijusZykas]

昨日、リトアニア🇱🇹領空へのドローン侵入に対し、航空危険警報が発令されました😔
最近、バルト諸国🇫🇮🇪🇪🇱🇻🇱🇹でドローン違反が相次いでいることに、懸念を抱いております
ロシア、#戦争を止めろ！

[駐日リトアニア🇱🇹大使Aurelijus Zykas オーレリウス・ジーカス @AurelijusZykas]

リトアニア🇱🇹は重要な決定を支持します
残念ながら、我々の地政学的に困難な世界において、🕊️平和を守るために防衛協力をさらに強化しなければなりません
この決定のおかげで、🇯🇵と志を同じくする国々との協力がさらに強固になり、ウクライナ🇺🇦への支援の新たな可能性が出来ることを期待しております❣️

[Lithuania MFA 🇱🇹 | #StandWithUkraine @LithuaniaMFA]

On 11 March 1990, Lithuania restored its Independence. Despite Soviet aggression, propaganda and an economic blockade, we persisted with courage, truth and unity. That choice still defines us. 🇱🇹

[Lithuania MFA 🇱🇹 | #StandWithUkraine @LithuaniaMFA]

Congratulations to FM Toshimitsu Motegi @moteging and the people of #Japan 🇯🇵 on National Day and the Emperor’s Birthday! Our strategic partnership underpins the lasting friendship between our countries. We remain committed to strengthening the many bonds that unite our peoples.

[Inga Ruginienė @IRuginiene]

Congratulations to @takaichi_sanae on your reappointment as Prime Minister of Japan.

Lithuania and Japan are strategic partners, united by shared democratic values and a close historic bond. I look forward to continuing our close cooperation for the benefit of our peoples.

[Kęstutis Budrys @BudrysKestutis]

Warm congratulations to @moteging on your renewed mandate as Japan’s Foreign Minister!

Looking back to our meeting in Tokyo, I am confident the 🇱🇹 - 🇯🇵 partnership will continue to grow across multiple fields, especially security and societal resilience.

[Gitanas Nausėda @GitanasNauseda]

Congratulations to @takaichi_sanae on the re-election as Prime Minister of Japan!

As Lithuania and Japan mark the 35th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations this year, we can take pride in our bilateral ties, which have reached the level of a strategic partnership.

We look forward to welcoming you to Lithuania.

[Sławomir Dębski @SlawomirDebski]

Sergei Lavrov now suggests that Russia’s signature on yet another agreement should be treated as a credible guarantee of restraint. That request would carry more weight if Russia had not systematically violated virtually every foundational legal commitment that structured European security after 1945 and after 1991.

Russia has violated the UN Charter (the prohibition on the use of force), the Paris Charter for a New Europe, the NATO–Russia Founding Act, all its bilateral treaties with Ukraine recognizing its borders, and the Budapest Memorandum, under which Ukraine surrendered its nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances. After this record, asking the international community to believe that “this time will be different” amounts to asking for an act of faith detached from evidence.

The problem is not the absence of treaties. The problem is Russia’s non-normative understanding of international law. For Moscow, international law is not a set of binding rules that apply equally to all. It is an instrument - something others are expected to obey, when it serves Russian interests. Russia, by contrast, considers itself exempt. Compliance occurs only under one condition: fear of reciprocity: the expectation that violations will be met with equal or greater consequences.

History reinforces this conclusion. In 1932, the Soviet Union signed non-aggression pacts with both Poland and Finland. In 1939, it invaded both. Those treaties did not fail because of legal ambiguity; they failed because Moscow never regarded them as morally or politically binding. They were tactical conveniences, discarded the moment they ceased to serve Soviet interests.

Nothing in Russia’s contemporary behavior suggests a departure from that tradition. Treaties, from Moscow’s perspective, are not safeguards of peace; they are pauses between acts of coercion, respected only when backed by credible deterrence.

The lesson is therefore clear: peace in Europe will not be secured by new Russian signatures on old paper. It will be secured only when Russia understands that violating agreements carries consequences it cannot afford. Only deterrence - not promises -has ever constrained Moscow’s behavior.

On Russia’s approach to international law, read @LauriMalksoo’s excellent book - and don’t let Lavrov fool anyone.👇

[Johanna Nyman @JohannaNyman5]

This is my flag.

It stands for unity, freedom, peace, democracy, equality, civilization, diversity, rule of law, science, beauty and strength.

There is nothing more important to fight for.

[Lithuania MFA 🇱🇹 | #StandWithUkraine @LithuaniaMFA]

On the 150th anniversary of the visionary Lithuanian composer and painter M. K. Čiurlionis, his symphonic poem "The Sea" was played aboard the International Space Station by NASA astronaut @JonnyKimUSA. 🛰️ 1/2

[PermRep of Lithuania to the EU @LithuaniaInEU]

Today, we celebrate 150 years since the birth of M. K. Čiurlionis, a visionary who created timeless music, paintings, poetry, and artistic photography ahead of his time. His endless love for #Lithuania lives on in ~300 paintings, ~400 music compositions, and many other art forms.

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

Five things to remember about war:

1. Many things reported with confidence in the first hours and days will turn out not to be true

2. Whatever they say, the people who start wars are often thinking chiefly about domestic politics

3. The rationale given for a war will change over time, such that actual success or failure in achieving a named objective is less relevant than one might think

4. Wars are unpredictable

5. Wars are easy to start and hard to stop

[MOFA of Japan @MofaJapan_en]

On February 25, 2025, Mr. MATSUMOTO Hisashi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended the Lithuanian National Day Reception, which was held at the Europa House in Japan, and delivered his remarks on behalf of the Japanese government. #Lithuania
https://t.co/GatLqBa5sM

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

Pushing your democratic partner to surrender to an autocratic imperialist is not the same as mediating a just and enduring peace settlement.

[Roman Sheremeta 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @rshereme]

10/ Stay strong. Stay informed. Resist.

(Adapted from Valeriy Pekar’s appeal.)

[Roman Sheremeta 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @rshereme]

6/ The only thing we can do is hold firm. Surrender means the loss of our friends, families, and possibly ourselves. Some still don’t believe in another Bucha or Mariupol happening everywhere. But history has already shown us what russia does.

[Roman Sheremeta 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @rshereme]

In the coming weeks, a massive information attack against Ukraine will emerge from the U.S. We will hear claims that Ukraine is an artificial country, a creation of Austria & USAID, a dictatorship ruled by Nazis, and that it illegally produces WMDs.

1/n