Inviting Ukraine to NATO would be the best deterrence step to help Ukraine win the war against Russia, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas has said on Friday.

The minister recalled that at the last meeting of NATO defense ministers, he said that Russia must not be given an informal veto on NATO enlargement. Therefore, inviting Ukraine to the Alliance would demonstrate the irreversibility of this process, not only in words, but also in deeds, he said in a video address to the 10th Kyiv Security Forum for Youth organized by Arseniy Yatsenyuk's Open Ukraine Foundation.

At the same time, Kasčiūnas noted that not all Western leaders support Ukraine's membership in NATO and there are still opinions that it will lead to escalation.

He emphasized that the lessons of history show that Russia respects only force.

The minister also said that inviting Ukraine to NATO would be the best deterrence step that would help Ukraine win this brutal war.

The Kyiv Security Forum for Youth is the leading platform for engaging young leaders in discussions on national security and international relations.