Lithuania’s LTG Cargo suspends railway car traffic in Belarus and Russia

March 18, BPN. LTG Cargo, a cargo subsidiary of the state-owned Lithuanian Railways (LTG), has suspended the traffic and transit of its railway cars in Belarus and Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Previously, the company requested that its Belarusian and Russian partners immediately return its railway cars, including those that were in transit. According to LTG Cargo, the cars have been pulled back to Lithuania over the past few days.

The company uses two types of cars: those on lease and those under its own management. 

On February 2, Belarusian foreign ministry announced the suspension of cargo transit through Belarus by LTG Cargo effective as of February 7. The decision was taken “due to the illegal decision of the Lithuanian government to stop the transit of Belarusian potash fertilizers, grossly violating the law and direct bilateral and multilateral obligations of the Lithuanian side.”

At a meeting on December 21, 2021, the Lithuanian Commission for Coordination of Protection of Objects of Importance to National Security announced that the contract between Belaruskali and LTG did not meet the interests of national security. On January 12, 2022, the Lithuanian government approved that conclusion, which providing grounds for terminating the contract.

Lithuanian Minister of Transport Marius Skuodis declared the contract “null and void” as of February 1, 2022.

On February 24, Russia started a war against Ukraine, officially called a “special military operation.” Authorities in Minsk deny Belarusian army troops’ involvement in combat operations on the Russian side. At the same time, Russian army uses Belarus for strikes on Ukraine. Moreover, captured Russian soldiers confessed that they had entered Ukraine from Belarus.

In connection with the act of military aggression, democratic countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, while significant restrictive measures, albeit on a smaller scale, were introduced against Belarus, whose authorities provided territory and infrastructure for Russian troops.