Lithuanian, Portuguese presidents arrive in Kyiv.

The Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa arrived in Kyiv on the morning of Aug.

23, Ukraine's National Flag Day. The visits were not announced beforehand for security reasons, and are taking place ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug.

24. It is Rebelo de Sousa's first official visit to Ukraine.

Immediately after arriving in Kyiv, the president visited Bucha and its memorial at the site of the Russian massacre of Ukrainian civilians. Nauseda said[1] that he was in Kyiv "to celebrate Ukraine's Independence Day together with the brotherly Ukrainian nation," and that Lithuania will support Ukraine for "as long as it takes."

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda arrives in Kyiv on Aug.

23, 2023 (Photo: @GitanasNauseda / Twitter)

Lithuania is a close ally of Ukraine. On Aug.

17, the country, together with its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Estonia, announced it would join the Group of Seven (G7) declaration on security guarantees[2] for Ukraine. Portugal joined the declaration[3] in July, which aims to bolster Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression. The guarantees also address sanctions, financial aid, and post-war reconstruction.

Portugal is also one of 11 members of an international coalition[4] to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, which was announced by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

Hungarian president arrives in Zakarpattia Oblast Hungarian President Katalin Novak has arrived in Ukraine's westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast, meeting local officials and leaders of the local Hungarian ethnic community, the Hungarian news portal Telex reported on Aug.

22.

[5] 32 years of independence - and counting.

UkraineiscelebratingitsIndependenceDay

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References

1. ^ said (twitter.com)
2. ^ security guarantees (kyivindependent.com)
3. ^ declaration (kyivindependent.com)
4. ^ international coalition (kyivindependent.com)
5. ^ Hungarian president arrives in Zakarpattia OblastHungarian President Katalin Novak has arrived in Ukraine's westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast, meeting local officials and leaders of the local Hungarian ethnic community, the Hungarian news portal Telex reported on Aug.

   22. (kyivindependent.com)