In an interview with The Associated Press in Washington, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Putin's annual Victory Day speech was ``underwhelming'' and that the ``gloomy faces'' of generals and others were signs of failing in the Ukraine war.

Yet, he said a wounded Putin maybe even more dangerous and that the only way to remove the threat is to remove him.

``From our standpoint, up until the point the current regime is not in power, the countries surrounding it will be, to some extent, in danger. Not just Putin but the whole regime because, you know, one might change Putin and might change his inner circle but another Putin might rise into his place,'' Landsbergis said.

``And so as long as a regime that intends to wage wars outside Russian territory is in place, the countries surrounding it are in danger,'' he said.

``And, if one thing was proven to those who doubted it after 2008 in Georgia in 2014 when the first war in Ukraine started, it is that Russia is an aggressive country. That's very clear.''

Lithuania is one of the three Baltic states that among NATO allies are particularly concerned about possible Russian designs on forcefully returning them to Moscow's rule.

Lithuanian officials, including Landsbergis, have been especially outspoken about their fears but his overt calls for regime change go beyond what most NATO allies have been willing to express.