Lithuania says sanctions on goods to Kaliningrad are in effect from Saturday

VILNIUS (Reuters) – A ban on the transit of goods subject to European Union sanctions through its territory into the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad will come into effect from Saturday, the Lithuanian authorities said.

The news of the ban came, Friday, via a video clip broadcast by the region’s governor, Anton Alikhanov. Read more

The EU sanctions list includes in particular coal, minerals, building materials and advanced technology, and Alikhanov said the ban would cover about 50% of the materials imported by Kaliningrad.

Its immediate start was confirmed by the freight arm of Lithuania’s state railways service in a letter to customers after a “clarification” from the European Commission on the mechanism for applying sanctions.

A spokesperson for the service confirmed the contents of the message but declined to comment further. The State Department did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adominas told public television that his institution was awaiting “clarification from the European Commission on the application of European sanctions on the transit of goods in Kaliningrad”.

crammed between EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania,

Kaliningrad receives supplies from Russia via railways and gas pipelines through Lithuania.

Home to the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet, the enclave was captured from Nazi Germany by the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II.

Additional reporting by Andrios Setas in Vilnius; Additional reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels; Editing by John Stonestreet and Christina Fincher

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