In an international first, Lithuania’s parliament officially designated Russia as a terrorist country in a unanimous vote on Tuesday. The resolution states that Russia “supports and perpetrates terrorism” with its blatant disregard for human life, as is demonstrated both in the “deliberat[e] and systemati[c]” targeting of civilians and the rising reports of rape and human trafficking in Ukraine. Lithuanian lawmakers also declared Russia’s actions in Ukraine a genocide but are not the first to do so, as Canada’s government made the same designation last month. Ukraine praised Lithuania’s actions, though some fear that the choice to call Russia a terrorist country could only further escalate tensions at a time when those close to Putin fear that the increasingly unpredictable dictator could resort to nuclear weapons or enact martial law.
