Lithuania Says Sanctions on Goods to Kaliningrad Take Effect

Lithuanian authorities said a ban on the transit through their territory to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad of goods that are subject to EU sanctions was to take effect Saturday.

News of the ban came Friday, through a video posted by the region's governor Anton Alikhanov.

The EU sanctions list notably includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology, and Alikhanov said the ban would cover around 50% of the items that Kaliningrad imports.

Its immediate start was confirmed by the cargo arm of Lithuania's state railways service in a letter to clients following "clarification" from the European Commission on the mechanism for applying the sanctions.

Urging citizens not to resort to panic buying, Alikhanov said two vessels were already ferrying goods between Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg, and seven more would be in service by the end of the year.