On September 30, the Lithuanian government approved a bill that prohibits citizens of Russia and Belarus from purchasing real estate in areas near strategic facilities, even if they have residence permits.
LRT writes about this.
Belarusian citizens without a residence permit will also be prohibited from purchasing real estate, while Russians were prohibited from doing so under the previous draft law. The restrictions will not apply to cases where real estate is inherited.
If the Sejm approves the amendments, they will enter into force on January 1 of next year.
Latvia and Finland previously banned citizens of Russia and Belarus from buying real estate. Exceptions were made for those who have a residence permit in the respective country. Estonia also plans to introduce a similar ban.
In addition, the Lithuanian government approved a proposal to ban Belarusian and Russian artists and other cultural figures from performing in the country if they worked in occupied or annexed Ukrainian territories.
The ban will also apply to people who directly or indirectly supported Russiaʼs war against Ukraine. The government has not yet defined specific criteria, and the amendment still needs to be approved by parliament.
The restrictions will not apply to people who "clearly opposed aggression, occupation or annexation, publicly demonstrated their disagreement with these actions, and whose activities objectively did not contribute to the realization of the interests of the occupying power".
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.