Aurimas Pečkauskas, the former Minister of Health of Lithuania, has traveled to the combat zone in Donetsk to work alongside Ukrainian medics in treating the wounded. This is reported by the Lithuanian media outlet LRT.
This marks Pečkauskas's third mission to Ukraine. His first visit was to hospitals in Poltava, Lviv, and Kyiv, and in his second mission, he served as a doctor at the Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipropetrovsk.
This time, he arrived in Ukraine as a volunteer for the Lithuanian NGO Blue / Yellow. He shared that he worked near the front lines in the Donetsk region with mobile surgical teams.
Following this, Pečkauskas spent several days with the organization TacMed Ukraine, helping to organize evacuations. He also brought medical equipment that was purchased for Ukraine by Lithuanian organizations.
The ex-minister explained that he decided to come to Ukraine out of professional interest, being an anesthesiologist-resuscitator, but also out of a sense of responsibility.
«While Ukraine is at war, we have time to prepare. Therefore, it is our duty to learn from their experiences so that we know what to do if needed. Now is not the time to hide from potential issues. And there will definitely be no time to learn when that issue arises,» emphasized the Lithuanian ex-official.
He stressed the importance of «bringing this experience back to Lithuania — not only for doctors but also for those planning the readiness of the healthcare system for threats».
Earlier, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė announced that in 2026, the country would allocate 5.38% of its gross domestic product for defense, which translates to 4.79 billion euros.