In response to the war in Ukraine, the Lithuanian government has stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens, including to those seeking medical help in the country
According to the Lithuanian Health Ministry, Russian citizens will no longer be able to go to Lithuania to seek health care services, such as diagnostic examination, inpatient or surgical treatment. In addition, Russians won’t be able to receive permits if the reason for entry is nursing close relatives living in Lithuania, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“In solidarity with Ukraine and its people experiencing military aggression by the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health is suspending the issuance of permits to enter Lithuania by citizens of the Russian Federation on an exceptional basis,” the press release reads.
In addition to Lithuania, authorities from the Czech Republic have also stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens due to the invasion of Ukraine. The news was shared by the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, who also announced that all Czech consulates in Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.
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He also pointed out that Russian consulates in the Czech cities of Brno and Karlovy Vary have been suspended and are not operating.
“We are suspending the processing of visa applications from Russian nationals at all our consular offices with the exception of humanitarian cases,” PM Fiala said.
The Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkevics, also stated that the country would stop issuing visas to Russian citizens, except for cases that include urgent humanitarian matters. Riga – Latvia’s capital, has also imposed a ban on three Russian television channels for three to five years.
“We took the decision… because they pose a threat to the national security of Latvia,” Ivars Abolins, head of the Latvian broadcast watchdog agency NEPLP, told AFP, calling the channels “propaganda”.
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Moreover, Janusz Cieszynski, the Polish government’s top official in charge of digital technology, revealed that Russian channels would stop being transmitted in the country, including Russia Today.
According to the United Nations, 240 civilians died from the fighting, including at least 64 being killed, although it is believed that real figures are higher but cannot be accurately reported due to frequent casualties.
The news channel Al Jazeera reports that The Ukrainian military has revealed that at least 4,500 Russian soldiers had been killed, while the Russian government has acknowledged that several of its soldiers had been killed and wounded. However, the losses are far more prominent on the Ukrainian side.