Lithuania freezes assets of Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov

Lithuania has applied national sanctions against Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov, who were previously removed from the EU sanctions list, and blocked their assets.

"Lithuania is taking action and will not look away. Today, we froze the assets of Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov under our national sanctions regime," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys wrote on X.

As the minister noted, removing these two Russian oligarchs from EU sanctions sent the wrong signal.

Budrys emphasised that sanctions pressure on Russia and those who facilitate the Russian war effort must be strengthened and maintained on an ongoing basis.

As part of national sanctions, Lithuania banned entry to Usmanov and Fridman. Estonia also introduced its own national sanctions against these oligarchs.