Lithuania exposes scheme to circumvent sanctions against russia
On August 25, 2025, the Criminal Customs Service of the Republic of Lithuania reported a successful operation uncovering a company in Kaunas that was posing as a fictitious firm in Portugal and attempting to export industrial water treatment equipment to russia.
▫️The European Union continues to increase economic pressure on russia to limit its ability to finance the war in Ukraine. The latest, 18th sanctions package targets the energy and banking sectors: it bans the use of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, lowers the price cap on russian oil to $45 per barrel, disconnects 22 more russian banks from SWIFT, and restricts 105 vessels of russia’s “shadow fleet.” The purchase of petroleum products derived from russian raw materials is also prohibited.
The EU is currently working on developing new sanction mechanisms to further limit the kremlin’s ability to fund the war, compel russia to stop hostilities, and move toward genuine peace negotiations.
