Lithuanian PM: Russian oligarchs' reactions show Western sanctions working

  • 2022-03-14
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Russian oligarchs' reactions show that the West's sanctions are working, but they need to be strengthened further, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Monday, as the Kremlin's forces continued their invasion of Ukraine.

"We can see from the Russian oligarchs that the sanctions are painful and that they are working," Simonyte said at a joint news conference with her Polish and Ukrainian counterparts in Warsaw.

"In the past, some would say that perhaps sanctions were not a very effective weapon. I would dare to say that we have never had real sanctions and we are only now starting to have them," the Lithuanian prime minister said. 

"It is a great pity that this is happening so late, because the people of Ukraine are paying too high a price for this," she added. "The full impact of the sanctions will only be felt in the long term, but we need to strengthen and expand them now to make sure that Russia's war is as costly as possible."  

According to Simonyte, the sanctions have to affect not only Russia, but also Belarus, which "has leased its land for this despicable invasion of Ukraine. "