Future Timeline

Lithuania's parliament has designated Russia a terrorist country and its actions in Ukraine as genocide.

The Lithuanian Seimas tweeted Tuesday that its members had passed the resolution unanimously.

This makes Lithuania the first country to declare Russia a perpetrator of terrorism, according to Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security. It's not the first to formally accuse Russia of genocide: Canadian lawmakers unanimously adopted such a motion last month.

Lithuania's resolution says that Russia's armed forces and mercenaries have committed war crimes in Ukraine, citing the atrocities reported in places Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Borodyaka, Hostomel and other cities, according to public broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT).

June 20, 2022

VILNIUS, Lithuania -- Lithuania on Monday defended its decision to bar rail transit from Russia to a Russian Baltic Sea exclave of goods hit by European Union sanctions, in a move that drew Moscow's strong anger amid high tensions in the region.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said his country was simply implementing sanctions imposed by the EU, of which it is a member. He said the measures implemented Saturday were taken after “consultation with the European Commission and under its guidelines.”

“Sanctioned goods (will) no longer be allowed to transit Lithuanian territory,” Landsbergis added.

Goods on the list include steel, but are set to be broadly expanded to cover items from coal to alcoholic drinks.

The Kaliningrad exclave, home to some 430,000 people, is surrounded by Lithuania and Poland, another EU country, to the south and isolated from the rest of Russia. Trains with goods for Kaliningrad travel via Belarus and Lithuania. There's no transit through Poland. Russia can still supply the exclave by sea, without falling foul of EU sanctions.