Lithuania suspends Russian oil transit to Kaliningrad region due to US and UK sanctions
Lithuanian Railways (LTG) has announced the suspension of the transit of oil products of the Russian company “Lukoil” to the Kaliningrad region. The decision was made against the backdrop of new sanctions by the United States and Great Britain against the largest oil companies in Russia. This was reported by the LTG press service, LRT reports.
The company noted that it will fully comply with the sanctions regime introduced by Washington and London. According to the new restrictions, which will come into force on November 21, the assets of “Rosneft” and “Lukoil” in the US will be frozen, and American companies will be prohibited from conducting any transactions with them. The sanctions also apply to third parties, in particular foreign banks that carry out transactions for sanctioned entities.
“After the end of the transition period for the implementation of existing contracts, LTG will not carry out transport operations with the participation of companies subject to US or UK sanctions, including “Lukoil”, “Rosneft” or their related entities”, the company said.
Last year, LTG transported 371,000 tons of petroleum products to the Kaliningrad exclave, of which 345,000 tons were cargoes for “Lukoil”. In 2025, the volume of transportation of this company’s products decreased to 194,000 tons. At the same time, LTG clarified that they do not have direct contractual relations with “Lukoil”, and transportation is carried out through forwarding agencies.
According to EU rules adopted in December 2022, the transportation of Russian oil products through the EU is prohibited, but Lithuania applies an exception that allows rail transit of essential goods to Kaliningrad.
In response to the new US restrictions, “Lukoil” announced its intention to sell its foreign subsidiaries to the Swiss oil trader Gunvor. According to the US Treasury Department, the new sanctions could reduce the Kremlin’s revenues from oil and gas exports by 30%.
