On April 7, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that two Lithuanian nationals were injured while fighting in the Ukrainian army. According to the information available to Ambassador Valdemaras Sarapinas, two injured Lithuanians are being treated in a hospital in the city of Dnipro. Later, the Foreign Ministry clarified that one Lithuanian suffered minor injuries and has already been released from hospital. The other was operated on and is still in the hospital in stable condition.
“The ambassador is in contact and will provide all necessary assistance to the soldiers,” said the ministry. According to information available to LRT.lt, the two soldiers were wounded near Bakhmut, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast that has been at the centre of heavy fighting. There may be more Lithuanian citizens injured, at least two more have suffered minor injuries. All of them were fighting in the Foreign Legion of the Ukrainian army.
The Dnipro Military Medical Clinical Centre informed LRT.lt that it is treating foreign patients, but cannot confirm their nationality. In February, another Lithuanian citizen who fought in Ukraine was wounded during an exercise and was transferred to a clinic in Kaunas, Lithuania. The exact number of Lithuanians fighting in Ukraine is not known, but it is estimated to be several dozen.
The town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk Oblast has been a flashpoint for clashes between Russian and Ukrainian troops in recent months, with UK intelligence reporting today a significant advance of Russian forces into the town centre.
