Ex-soviet states Lithuania and Kazakhstan have been threatened with military action after coming under fire from allies of Vladimir Putin. This came amid Lithuania's decision to block goods sanctioned by the EU from reaching Russian exclave Kaliningrad.
Now, reports have emerged that Putin could declare martial law on five Russian regions bordering Ukraine in a bid to boost his war effort. The Lithuanian chargé d'affaires in Moscow was told that unless cargo transit was resumed in the near future, Russia would solve the issue "in any way we choose."
Moscow's Foreign Ministry said: "We consider provocative measures of the Lithuanian side which violate Lithuania's international legal obligations, primarily the 2002 Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the European Union on transit between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of the Russian Federation, to be openly hostile."
