“It is unacceptable that Russian citizens who support Russia’s wars can freely travel around the world, in Lithuania, in the European Union. This is also a security issue, because support for such hostile acts could threaten the security of our country and the entire EU,” said Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė.

EU diplomats often point out that it is impossible to talk about collective guilt, as it is usually not “ordinary Russians” who travel to the EU, but members of the upper social strata who enjoy European spas and shop at luxury brand stores.

In the first nine hours alone, Lithuania turned eleven Russians on the border. “From midnight to nine o’clock on Monday morning, Lithuanian border guards refused to allow eleven Russian tourists into the country,” said the country’s border guard commander, Rustams Lyubayev.

Border Guard assesses each entry application individually. If the Russian in question applies for a humanitarian visa, he or she must submit the relevant documents. If he claims that he was persecuted by the regime in the Kremlin, he will have to prove it again.

Exceptions to the prohibition also apply to truck drivers working in international transport who hold long-term visas or residence permits.

“We plan that the border guards will assess the attitude of each arriving citizen to the war in Ukraine, which will be one of the arguments when deciding whether to allow entry or not,” Lyubaev added.

Something similar was mentioned in the past by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who jokingly suggested that Russia be asked a simple question upon joining the EU: “Crimea whose?”

The answer will indicate whether it poses a security risk to the EU or not. The idea also caught the attention of the Czech chief of diplomacy, Jan Lipavský (Pirate).

For a long time, the Baltic states have been pushing for a pan-European solution to the unbearable pressure on their borders with Russia and Belarus. After EU member states were unable to agree on a blanket ban, these countries proceeded to their own regional restrictions, which Poland later followed.

However, the member states agreed to suspend the so-called facilitation agreement, as a result of which Russia will no longer pay 35, but 80 euros for a visa, and the whole process will be extended for them for several days.