LITHUANIA, March 24 - On Thursday, the Prime Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland have sent a joint letter to the leaders of the European Union, calling for increased pressure on Russia amidst its efforts to continue the unprovoked and reckless war against Ukraine, as well as on Belarus, as a co-aggressor.

‘We call on you to take the necessary steps to prohibit the road freight transport, from and to the territory of Russia and Belarus. To complement this, we propose also to block Russian and Belarussian vessels from entering the EU ports. As the transport sector is international by its very nature, we believe that measures in both modes need to be adopted simultaneously at the EU level in order to be truly effective’, reads Prime Ministers’ letter.

The letter points out indiscriminate and illegal attacks on civilian targets, including schools, hospitals and nurseries, suffering and deaths caused to the civilian population, and an unprecedented refugee crisis - over 3,5 million Ukrainians have been forced to leave their country so far. To limit the Russian regime’s ability to continue the war, the Prime Ministers are proposing measures vis-a-vis Russia’s and Belarus’s transport sectors.

The leaders note that they committed in the Versaille Declaration to increase even further the pressure on invaders and declared readiness to move quickly with further sanctions. But Russia has only increased since then the strategy of terror and massive civilian areas bombardment. According to the Prime Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland the EU cannot lose momentum and accept war crimes and collateral fatalities among the civilian population as the new baseline. And the war launched by Russia can be stopped only if its illegal actions receive a united and powerful response from the EU, as well as new sanctions.

Full joint letter available in English and Lithuanian languages.