Lithuania closes the Russian consulate in Klaipeda and sends the Russian ambassador

Lithuania closes the Russian consulate in Klaipeda, and the Russian ambassador was ordered to leave the country. The current Lithuanian ambassador to Moscow will also return home, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, LRT reports.

"In response to Russiaʼs military aggression against sovereign Ukraine and atrocities committed by Russian forces in various occupied Ukrainian cities, including the horrific massacre in Bucha, the Lithuanian government has decided to downgrade its diplomatic mission, and the Russian ambassador will be forced to leave Lithuania ", he stated.

One week ago, Landsbergis said the closure of the Russian consulate in the port city of Klaipeda was a difficult issue due to transit to the Kaliningrad region.

Today, Lithuania became the first European country to recall its ambassador from Russia. Prior to that, it became the first country to abandon Russian gas.