Panic erupted in Kaliningrad over the weekend after authorities in the Russian region claimed that Lithuania was preparing to close the railways and gas pipelines supplying the region. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peshkov further escalated tensions on Monday, threatening to respond to an “illegal move,” he said. He said: “This decision is truly unprecedented. It is a violation of everything. We consider it illegal. The situation is more than serious; we need a serious in-depth analysis to process our response. “ Map Stuck between Lithuania to the north and east and Poland to the south, Kaliningrad is about 1,300 km from Moscow and relies heavily on much of its rail freight. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Vilnius must reverse the “openly hostile” move. “If the transit of cargo between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of the Russian Federation through Lithuania is not fully restored in the near future, then Russia reserves the right to take measures to protect its national interests,” he said. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said ahead of a meeting in Brussels that Moscow was spreading false information and that the state railway service only enacts the EU sanctions regime, which bans the supply of steel or iron ore products. Landsbergis said less than half of the goods usually delivered through Lithuania would be covered by the sanctions regime over time, with the steel ban coming into force on June 17. “I think there was some false information, not the first time, that was announced by the Russian authorities, but I’m glad we have the opportunity to explain that,” he said. “At this point, about a little less than half of the goods passing through Lithuania are on the sanctions list, but that does not mean that all of them are subject to sanctions at the moment. “Because there are different clearing periods, and some of them, for example oil, will be sanctioned only at the end of the year, starting in December, even though the authorities have announced that they have already been sanctioned, which is not really the case. ” Products banned under EU sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine include coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology. On Saturday, much of the panic in the pocket seemed to be triggered by calls for calm from the governor of the region, Anton Alikhanov. He said two ships were already carrying goods between Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg and another seven would be in service by the end of the year. “Our ferries will handle all cargo,” he said on Saturday. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Then came a video that could not be verified by independent people loading shopping carts into DIY stores in response to the news. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba wrote on Twitter: “Russia has no right to threaten Lithuania. “Moscow has only the same responsibility for the consequences of its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. “We applaud the attitude of the Lithuanian authorities and stand firmly on the side of our Lithuanian friends.” Kaliningrad, home to the Russian Baltic Sea Fleet, has a population of about 500,000. It was occupied by Nazi Germany by the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union at the end of the war.
