Following the example of Ukraine: Lithuania decided to steal Belarusian fire trucks for Zimbabwe

The Lithuanian authorities are studying the possibility of transferring to Ukraine 17 Belarusian fire trucks confiscated in the port of Klaipeda during their shipment to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean media write about this.

It is reported that the fire trucks were confiscated in March last year due to sanctions against Belarus and the company that supplied them.

"A pre-trial investigation is underway, and the prosecutor has ruled that 17 vehicles that were heading to Zimbabwe should be confiscated. The issue of their possible delivery to Ukraine," said Lithuanian Prosecutor General Nida Grunskene.

According to her, the Zimbabwean authorities were informed about the decision through diplomatic channels.

"We are waiting to see if they will exercise their right to appeal," she added.

In turn, Zimbabwe said that the arrest of these machines has no legal basis. The representative of the Government of Zimbabwe Ndawaningi Mangwana said that this fire equipment is urgently needed for "operations to extinguish fires, protect life and property, as well as the preservation of Zimbabwe's World Heritage sites and important crops that survived during the devastating drought." According to the Prosecutor General of this country, Virginia Mabhiza, she visited Lithuania in early 2024, where she was refused a request to return fire equipment.

"We were given an explanation that the fire trucks or some of their components were manufactured by a Belarusian company under EU sanctions. Zimbabwe claims that we are an innocent third party who bought fire trucks," Mabhiza said.

It should be recalled that Belarus is under severe sanctions from Western countries, which have almost completely blocked the republic's ability to ship its products through the Baltic countries. Previously, Belarusian property was confiscated only on Ukraine.