A series of restrictions on transit through Lithuania between the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast and mainland Russia were implemented during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [1] The restrictions extended only to sanctioned goods and began on 18 June 2022. [2] It was lifted one month later on 23 July. [3]
Russia and Lithuania negotiated the simplified transit regime to Kaliningrad in late 1990s. [4] Initially, Russia pushed for a right to have a military corridor, but Lithuania refused as it would breach the country's sovereignty. [4] The agreement was signed and the simplified transit mechanism began operating on 1 July 2003, with Lithuania fully regulating the rules of the transit. [4] When Lithuania joined the EU in 2004, it also joined the common policy on economic sanctions.
The restriction was introduced on 18 June 2022, against as a sanction followed by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. [5] Among other things, the transit of coal, metals, cement, wood, building materials and high-tech products by railway transport has stopped. The governor of the Kaliningrad Oblast, Anton Alikhanov, said that the ban affected 40-50% of cargo transported between the region and the rest of Russia. On 21 June Lithuania extended restrictions on freight vehicles as well.
In response, the Russian delegation began to openly threaten Lithuania. [6] [5] [7] Andrey Arkadyevich Klimov , the head of the temporary commission of the Federation Council for the protection of sovereignty, said:
If the EU "does not correct the situation with the blockade, it will free Russia's hands to solve this problem by any means". [8] [6]
Russia expressed an official protest to Lithuania.
On 22 June, the United States reminded that the NATO commitment to defend Lithuania is "ironclad". [9]
The representatives of Lithuania stated that they are ready to Russia disconnecting it from the regional energy system. On 24 June the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda said:
The Russian Federation would not dare to attack a country that is a member of NATO. [10]
On 29 June the head of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation on International Affairs, Vladimir Dzhabarov, suggested that Russia could use military force against Lithuania. [11]
On 11 July Lithuania expanded restrictions on the transit of goods, starting the phased introduction of sanctions announced by the EU. The list included concrete, wood, alcohol and alcohol-based industrial chemicals. [12]
On 13 July the European Commission published an explanation for member states regarding the transit of goods from Russia to Kaliningrad, confirming the legality of Lithuania's actions. [13] [14] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania stated that they are following these recommendations and will check all goods as much as possible in order to make it impossible for the Russian Federation to violate the terms of the sanctions. [15] [16]
On 23 July Lithuania removed rail transit restrictions for Kaliningrad after EU revised its sanction recommendations that only apply to road transit and not rail. [3]
Kaliningrad Oblast is the westernmost federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The oblast is surrounded by two European Union and NATO members: Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east. Its coastline faces the Baltic Sea to the northwest and a maritime border with Sweden to the west. The largest city and administrative centre of the province (oblast) is the city of Kaliningrad, formerly known as Königsberg. The port city of Baltiysk is Russia's only port on the Baltic Sea that remains ice-free in winter. Kaliningrad Oblast had a population of roughly 1 million in the Russian Census of 2021.
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