Lithuania Foreign Ministry Proposes Anti-War Declarations For Russian And Belarusian Artists

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has submitted amendments to the nation’s sanctions legislation aimed at barring pro-war Russian and Belarusian public figures from entering the country and blocking foreign real estate acquisitions near strategic infrastructure, LRT reported on July 27.

Under the proposed measures, individuals and corporate entities from Russia and Belarus who support Moscow’s war effort, operate in occupied Ukrainian territories, or undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty will be prohibited from conducting public activities in education, culture, sports, and entertainment.

To enter Lithuania for such events, visiting figures will be required to sign a publicly disclosed declaration explicitly condemning Russian military aggression and pledging support for Ukrainian sovereignty, LRT wrote. Refusing to execute the declaration will result in an automatic denial of entry, though individuals participating as neutral actors without representing their home states will remain eligible to operate.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the draft law seeks to establish a permanent legal mechanism to prevent hostile regimes from deploying soft power within the country’s public sphere. “It is important to provide institutions with a clear legal basis for making timely, consistent, and reasoned decisions so that public activity in the sphere of culture or entertainment is not used for propaganda, distorting history, and shaping narratives to influence Lithuanian society,” the ministry stated in comments reported by LRT.

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Alongside the public sector restrictions, the draft legislation imposes real estate limits that prevent Russian and Belarusian citizens holding Lithuanian residence permits from acquiring property adjacent to military proving grounds or critical national security facilities. The ban also covers Belarusian citizens and corporate entities lacking residence permits, expanding upon earlier property restrictions already applied to Russian nationals, according to LRT.

Scheduled to take effect on January 1, the new amendments represent an effort to formalize state security measures that previously relied on individual, ad hoc entry bans for pro-Kremlin artists. The legislative package updates Lithuania’s Law on Restrictive Measures, originally enacted in 2023 to restrict specific rights of citizens from aggressor states while reinforcing national security against external influence, LRT reported.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas had recently criticized the International Olympic Committee’s decision to readmit Russian athletes, calling the move “blind to reality” as Russian strikes continue to kill Ukrainian civilians.

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