Kremlin must run out of resources to continue its war in Ukraine – Lithuanian president

VILNIUS – The West must tighten sanctions to ensure that the Kremlin runs out of resources to continue its war in Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Friday.  

"Countries that have lived in Russia's neighborhood for centuries know better than anyone else that the aggressor can't be stopped by concessions," Nauseda said at a joint news conference with his Latvian, Polish and Romanian counterparts in Kaunas.

"We need to continue with sanctions: there must be no resources left for the Kremlin to continue this war," he said. 

The existing sanctions do not have the desired effect, which means that Europe has to review and assess their impact and, if necessary, change course, according to Nauseda.

"Have they caused enough damage to the Russian economy? This is the key question," he said.  

"Lithuania's position is that we should add more individuals and institutions to the sanctions list, as well as the military industry. We should also talk about the deswiftening of other Russian banks, especially Gazprombank," Nauseda said, commenting on Lithuania's proposals for a new package of sanctions against Moscow.

Vilnius also wants the Russian Constitutional Court's judges and the state-owned energy corporation Rosatom to be put on the sanctions list, according to the president.

The Lithuanian leader said Belarus "must also face the consequences of its involvement in the war".

As Moscow continues its invasion of Ukraine, the EU is now preparing a new ninth package of sanctions against Russia.

"Russia will be defeated; their war of aggression will be stopped," Nauseda said. 

The president called on Western countries to step up their support for Ukraine.

"We must scale up our support to Ukraine: air defense systems, weapons, military equipment, winter uniforms – anything that Ukrainians ask for," he said. 

"We need to find a way to deliver it, because this is how they can win against the aggressor; this is how we all can win."