THE Lithuania regime is considering sending 17 fire engines, originally purchased by Zimbabwe, to Ukraine in a move sparked by international sanctions on Belarus, according to the Baltic News Service (BNS).
The fire engines, which were purchased by Zimbabwe from Belarus last year, have been impounded in Lithuania’s port city of Klaipėda due to European Union sanctions against Belarus. Lithuania’s Prosecutor General, Nida Grunskienė, announced that authorities are now exploring the possibility of redirecting the vehicles to Ukraine, which is currently under Russian attack.
Speaking on the matter, Grunskienė said, “A pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and the prosecutor has decided that the 17 vehicles, originally bound for Zimbabwe, should be confiscated. We are considering transferring them to Ukraine.”
The prosecutor further clarified that the decision was communicated to Zimbabwean officials. “We informed Zimbabwe’s prosecutor’s office that the fire engines were confiscated because the company manufacturing them is under sanctions, and Zimbabwe itself is subject to certain sanctions,” she added.
Grunskienė also revealed that Zimbabwe’s Attorney General had visited Lithuania earlier this year to appeal for the return of the vehicles, but the process remains unresolved. “We are waiting to see if Zimbabwe will exercise its right to appeal,” she said.
Meanwhile, Latvia, a neighboring country, has been regularly donating confiscated cars from drunk drivers to Ukraine as part of its humanitarian aid efforts. The potential donation of the fire engines would mark Lithuania’s own significant contribution to Ukraine during its ongoing conflict with Russia.