Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, and the relationship between Lithuania and Russia has become increasingly tense surrounding the blockade of Kaliningrad transit cargo transportation. By virtue of being a member of NATO , the emboldened Lithuania still firmly believes that "Russia will not launch a military challenge to it." However, the outside world is already worried that the current situation will trigger a new global conflict. Just take action, which has always been the distinctive style of the fighting people.
Since the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Lithuania has acted as a "vanguard" in imposing sanctions on Russia. The country is also the first EU member to completely cut off Russia's energy imports. After Lithuania issued an "embargo order", Russian goods can only be transported to Kaliningrad by sea, which is not subject to EU sanctions. However, Kaliningrad has always been Russia's frontline strategic location to resist NATO's eastward expansion. Lithuania has imposed an "embargo" on this Russian enclave, almost cutting off its lifeline. This is tantamount to challenging Russia's strategic bottom line. . In this regard, Russia has made it clear that it wants to take action on Lithuania and has begun preparations for a response. Kaliningrad Region Governor Alikhanov revealed that Russia is currently discussing three sets of sanctions plans, including reciprocal blockades of ports in Baltic Sea countries such as Lithuania, and will be implemented in the near future.
It is reported that these measures will have a serious negative impact on the Lithuanian people, especially Russia's plan to impose a blockade on Lithuania and other Baltic countries. This has also made people once again worry that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will escalate into a global conflict. Because once Russia conflicts with a NATO member state, Article 5 of the NATO Charter, the Collective Defense Clause, will be triggered and may trigger World War III. In this regard, Lithuania came out to argue that the rumors of imposing a blockade on Kaliningrad were purely "unfounded" because the ban was not decided by Lithuania itself, but was based on the EU's relevant sanctions against Russia. Lithuania has not blocked Kaliningrad, and the land transportation channels between Kaliningrad and other parts of Russia have not been "maliciously" blocked, and all goods not subject to sanctions can circulate freely. Obviously, Lithuania has begun to shift the blame. The subtext is that if Russia wants to retaliate, it should not go to Lithuania, but to the EU, because the "embargo order" was not enacted by Lithuania, but given by the EU. issued guidelines.
Interestingly, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell also defended Lithuania’s “embargo order”, saying that although he has been worried about Russia’s retaliation, Lithuania is “not guilty” and Lithuania has not done anything else. , just implementing EU guidelines. See clearly, this sentence is a guideline, not a resolution. To put it bluntly, the EU only recommends that member states impose an embargo on Russia. Faced with the intensifying confrontation between Russia and Europe, the United States quickly jumped in to add fuel to the fire. On June 21, U.S. State Department spokesperson Price said that the United States welcomes the "unprecedented economic measures" taken by Lithuania and other countries against Russia. Price also threatened that the United States will support NATO allies and Lithuania on security issues. He also stressed that Washington's security commitment to its allies is "rock solid."
In the face of provocations from Western countries, Russia immediately issued a warning that the EU and NATO should not engage in "dangerous word games" on the Kaliningrad issue. Some Western countries are simply making up unrestricted military confrontation with Russia. Scenarios to avoid. To put it bluntly, the United States and Europe are trying to provoke a "Third World War." However, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda declared on the 22nd that Lithuania is ready to accept some form of retaliation from Russia, but he does not believe that Russia will "challenge" Lithuania militarily because Lithuania is a member of NATO . On the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova also upgraded her warning again, saying that Russia's response to the matter would not only remain at the diplomatic level, but that Russia would take "practical" measures. When and what actions Russia will take in retaliation will depend on whether Lithuania agrees to lift the "embargo order."
Although Lithuania is still "hard-nosed", the EU has relaxed somewhat. Borrell changed his tune on June 23, saying that we have no intention to impede or block traffic between Russia and Kaliningrad. The implication is that Lithuania imposed a "blockade" on Kaliningrad, not because we asked them to do it. Borrell also emphasized that the EU does want to prevent Russia from evading sanctions, but has no intention of imposing a "blockade" on Kaliningrad to avoid causing trouble to Kaliningrad's traffic. At the same time, the EU will re-examine the guidelines for sanctions against Russia, and there is no "blockade" in Kaliningrad. Although some goods are restricted, this control must be implemented "in a smart and smart way", Traffic between Kaliningrad and Russia cannot be hindered.
It can be seen that the EU has begun to back down on the issue of imposing a blockade on Kaliningrad. Of course, this also slaps Lithuania and the United States in the face. This seems to be in line with the saying that the soft one is afraid of the hard one, the hard one is afraid of being stunned, and the stunned one is afraid of death. Whether it is the EU or NATO, they may not be afraid of anything, but the only thing they are afraid of is someone who dares to risk their lives with them!
