War in Ukraine: Russia threatens Lithuania over trade blockade

The Kremlin has stoked fears of a broader conflict, threatening NATO member Lithuania with retaliation if it does not lift a trade blockade.

Hollywood actor and UN goodwill envoy Ben Stiller with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Picture: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service.

Kyiv: The Kremlin has stoked fears of a broader conflict, threatening NATO member Lithuania with retaliation if it does not lift a trade blockade on the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said the situation was “more than serious”, and a “violation of everything”.

His comments came after Lithuania, citing instructions from the European Union, said Russian goods sanctioned by Brussels would not be allowed to be transported by rail from Russia to Kaliningrad via Lithuania.

But Laurynas Kasciunas, chairman of the Lithuanian national security and defence committee, stood firm, saying: “We are not particularly worried about Russian threats. The Kremlin has very few options for how to retaliate.”

About half of all trade between Russia and Kaliningrad, which is sandwiched between NATO members Lithuania and Poland and has a population of about 500,000, will be affected by the ban.

The threats came despite Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain sparking fresh tensions with Europe amid as fears of a global food crisis, a Kyiv accused Moscow of stepping up attacks in the east of the country.

Since being repelled from Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine following its February invasion, Moscow is focusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region.

Its navy is blockading ports, which Ukraine says is preventing millions of tonnes of grain from being shipped to world markets.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the Russian blockade “a real war crime”, which was happening “while in the rest of the world people are suffering hunger”.

Growing concerns about a food crisis were “the fault of Western regimes, which act as provokers and destroyers”, said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was engaged in “complex negotiations” to unblock grain exports, although cautioned that there was no progress as yet.

In an address to the African Union, he also warned that the continent was a “hostage” of the conflict, and rising food prices “have already brought (the war) to the homes of millions of African families”.

With the European Union set to decide at a summit this week on whether to grant Ukraine candidate status – allowing it to vie for membership – Kyiv has warned that attacks are escalating.

Ukraine said it had lost control of the village of Metyolkine. The settlement is adjacent to Severodonetsk, which has been the focus of fighting for weeks and is now largely under Russian control.

A chemical plant in Severodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are said to be sheltering was being shelled “constantly”, Ukraine said.

Sergiy Gaiday – governor of the Lugansk region, which includes Severodonetsk – said the situation on the frontlines was “extremely tough”.

“Every town and village under Ukrainian control in the Lugansk region is under almost non-stop fire,” he said.

Three people were injured and seven more missing after Ukrainian forces attacked oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, Moscow-backed Crimea leader Sergey Aksyonov said.

It was the first reported strike against offshore energy infrastructure in Crimea since Russia launched its invasion.

In New York, Dmitry Muratov, the Russian editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize gold medal for $US103.5m ($148.6m) to benefit children displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Muratov won the prize in 2021 alongside journalist Maria Ressa of The Philippines.

With US-Russia tensions soaring, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told NBC News that two Americans captured in Ukraine while fighting with Kyiv’s military were “endangering” Russian soldiers and should be “held accountable for those crimes”.

The interview marks the first time the Kremlin has commented on the cases of Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, both US military veterans.

Denmark, meanwhile, became the latest European country to warn of potential gas supply problems when its energy agency issued an early warning, as Moscow reduces supplies in response to sanctions.

In a lighter moment, Hollywood star Ben Stiller met Mr Zelensky in Kyiv, hailing the comedian-turned-president as “my hero”.

“What you’ve done, the way that you’ve rallied the country, the world, it’s really inspiring,” said the 56-year-old actor, who is also a UN goodwill ambassador.

They also acknowledged their shared interest as comedy actors. “You quit a great acting career,” said Stiller, who is best known for his comedy roles in Meet the Parents and the Night at the Museum films.

“Not as great as yours,” Mr Zelensky said with a laugh.

Before being elected in 2019, Mr Zelensky was best known for his role in Servant of the People, a comedy satire in which he played a teacher who unexpectedly becomes Ukraine’s president.

AFP