Mackinac Policy Conference: former Lithuanian Ambassador on the crisis in Ukraine

Russia resumed missle strikes on the Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv, on Sunday. It’s part of the Kremlin’s continued invasion of the country.

Former U.S. Ambassador and Deputy Foreign Minister Žygimantas Pavilionis calls the war in Ukraine a genocide.

Pavilionis, who resides in the nearby country of Lithuania, refers to Ukraine as the “bread basket of the world.” He says millions of people could suffer from starvation due to a lack of access to Ukraine’s extensive food exports.

“Autocracies are coming, autocracies are marching, they work in harmony, they help each other to kill freedom and democracy.” — Žygimantas Pavilionis, former U.S. Ambassador

Listen: The war in Ukraine from a Lithuanian perspective.

Guest

Žygimantas Pavilionis is a former U.S. Ambassador and Deputy Foreign Minister, residing in Vilnius, Lithuania. He says if countries don’t intervene with Russia, the consequences could include sending a message to China that they can do the same in Taiwan.

According to Pavilionis, the geopolitical problems are not just coming from outside, but from inside certain countries too — where polarized politics are causing great chasms.

“Evil is coming,” says Pavilionis. “It already stomped your Capitol building; it’s already here — all those autocratic features in every capitol.

“We have countries divided, we have parties bought by Russians, we have Chinese and Russian influence on every corner, and we just dance that cabaret and well, until some people dance, we fight, and we die.”