Lithuania asks the EU for sanctions on Russian grain and stricter controls on transit

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius called on Thursday, October 8, for the European Union to ban the transit of Russian grain through the bloc and sanction oligarchs in Russia’s agricultural sector who support the war against Ukraine. The statement came amid Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea and Kyiv’s allegations of attacks on commercial vessels off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria.

Sinkevicius argued that Russia is using European ports and infrastructure, including in the Baltic states, to export its grain and generate revenue that supports its war effort. He called the situation unacceptable and announced stricter controls in Lithuania to verify the origin of grain.

The measures also target the identification of products stolen from Ukraine or mixed with other grain before being transported through Lithuania to global markets.

The European Union has so far not sanctioned Russian agricultural products, arguing that they do not directly affect the war machine. The EU’s sanctions representative, David O’Sullivan, said that trade between the EU and Russia has already fallen by 75% and that total decoupling is not necessarily the objective of European policy. Sinkevicius is calling for a change in approach and for Russia to be excluded from European logistics infrastructure.