Surrounded on both sides by NATO states, it is a strategically vital piece of land for Moscow, as it provides Russia’s only shoreline in the Baltic Sea. It houses the Russian Army’s Baltic Fleet and a number of advanced nuclear-capable Iskander missile installations. But the isolated piece of land relies on its rail link with the rest of Russia for the majority of its civilian imports. This railway line crosses Lithuania and then neighboring Belarus, which is an ally of Russia. A map shows the Kaliningrad region of Russia, bottom left, between NATO and EU countries Poland and Lithuania. Getty / iStockphoto On 18 June, Lithuania, a member of the European Union, banned the transit of all goods subject to EU sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by rail. This includes carbon, metals, electronics and construction materials. Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary-General of the Security Council of Russia and one of the most powerful figures in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, described Lithuania’s actions as “hostile” and “a violation of international law” during a visit to Kaliningrad. . “Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions,” Patrushev was quoted as saying by Russian state media. “The consequences will have a serious negative impact on the Lithuanian population.” In response, Lithuania said it was simply complying with EU decisions, stressing that the transit of non-sanctioned passengers and goods “continues unabated”. The passage of passengers and goods not subject to EU sanctions in the area of ​​# Kaliningrad through the territory of # Lithuania continues uninterrupted. 🇱🇹 has not imposed unilateral, individual or additional restrictions on transit and is acting in full compliance with EU law. Pic.twitter.com/qqgr9F84XM Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs #StandWithUkraine (@LithuaniaMFA) June 20, 2022 Anton Alikhanov, the governor of Kaliningrad, said the ban affected about half of all imports into the territory. “We consider this to be a more serious violation … of the right of free movement to and from the Kaliningrad region,” he said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app the day after Lithuania’s announcement. Videos posted on social media last weekend by Kaliningrad residents appeared to show panic about shopping in stores. Lithuanian authorities ridiculed the allegations by Russian officials, saying there was no “blockade” on Russia’s European enclave. “It’s ironic to hear rhetoric about alleged violations of international treaties by a country that has probably violated every international treaty,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonite told reporters, according to Reuters. Photographs from the Russian War in Ukraine are presented as part of an exhibition at the railway station in Vilnius, Lithuania, on March 25, 2022, where trains passing from Moscow to Kaliningrad stop. The exhibition aims to give passing Russian travelers a true picture of the conflict. PETRAS MALOUKAS / AFP / Getty Western officials have been quick to point out a Russian blockade of all ports along Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast, which has cut off global food supplies. The United Nations has warned that the embargo could lead to a prolonged global food crisis. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has warned Moscow against any escalation due to Lithuania imposing sanctions on the bloc. “We are on high alert,” Borrell said Monday. “But Lithuania is not guilty, it does not apply the national [unilateral] sanctions. It does not implement their will. Whatever they do was a consequence of their previous consultation with her [European] Commission.” With the Baltic Sea port free of ice all year round, Kaliningrad has provided Russia with a viable way to try to circumvent the myriad of international sanctions imposed on it over the Ukraine war. But restrictions on goods moving through Lithuania will greatly limit this perspective. A freight train from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad travels to the border railway station in Kimbartai, about 124 miles west of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, on June 22, 2022. Lithuania defended its decision to ban Russia from the sanctions of the European Union. Mindaugas Kulbis / AP Both the Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry have echoed Patrushev’s threats of “practical” retaliation against Lithuania, but Moscow has not yet indicated what that will mean. Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday that Moscow could, as a possible option, disconnect Lithuania from the regional electricity grid.
On Wednesday, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told Reuters that his country was ready for retaliation from Russia by cutting off electricity to the BRELL grid, but added that he did not expect a military confrontation over the curfew. Three decades after severing ties with the Soviet Union, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are still dependent on Russia for much of their electricity supply. Last year, however, Lithuania introduced a way to connect to the continental European network through Poland, reducing its dependence on Moscow. More