Lithuania’s decision to ban the transit of sanctioned materials to Russia through the Kaliningrad region – Russia’s exclave in the European Union – is “unprecedented” and Russia considers it “illegal,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
This decision is truly unprecedented. This is a violation of everything,” Peskov told reporters during a regular conference call on Monday.
“We also consider it illegal,” Peskov said, adding that the Kremlin will have to analyze the situation carefully. “It’s part of a blockade, of course,” he said.
Lithuanian Railways, the state-owned railway company, had informed Russia that from June 18 at midnight, no more transit trains would be allowed to pass with goods subject to EU sanctions, Kaliningrad region governor Anton Alikhanov said on his telegram channel. Friday.
The banned goods list includes construction materials, cement, metals and “a number of other goods important for both construction and production,” Alikhanov said.
Some background: Lithuania’s decision is the latest decision by an EU member state to impose sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February.
In late May, the European Union agreed to ban 90 percent of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, among other measures, European Council leaders said at the time.
“Agreement to ban the export of Russian oil to the EU. This immediately covers more than 2/3 of Russia’s oil imports, taking away a huge source of funding for its war machine,” Michel announced in a tweet†
Meanwhile, in the United States, in early June, the White House announced a new set of sanctions against Russian government officials and elites close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with a series of new financial and diplomatic sanctions.
The White House said in a statement that the most recent sanctions are intended to “address evasion and tighten our sanctions to improve enforcement and increase pressure on Putin and his enablers.”
DailyExpertNews’s Niamh Kennedy, Jeremy Diamond, Betsy Klein and Kate Sullivan covered this post.