Lithuania revoked the residence permits of 135 Russians after the start of the war in Ukraine

The authorities of Lithuania left the residence permits of 135 Russians after the start of the war in Ukraine. Euronews writes about this with reference to the data of the migration department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania.

After the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the agency began to send questionnaires to Russians living in the country, in which questions were asked about their attitude to the invasion, as well as about who owns Crimea. The message does not say how many Russians were deprived of their residence permits due to the answers to the questionnaire. It is emphasized, however, that the reason for revoking residence permits in some cases was a “security threat”, as well as potential “disloyalty” of Russians to the Lithuanian state.

In 2022, there will be 38 Russians left with residence permits, in 2023 – 97, reports Sever.Realii.

At the same time, the number of Russian citizens applying for a residence permit in Lithuania is growing. In 2022, it reached 4 thousand.

• The Baltic countries have supported Ukraine since the very beginning of the Russian invasion of this country. In Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, Soviet monuments are being demolished, the presence of the Russian language is being reduced in the programs of educational institutions, restrictions are being introduced for Russians to obtain residence permits, and EU countries are calling on them to actively help Ukraine.
• Since the end of September, Latvia, along with other Baltic countries, has completely banned the entry of Russians on tourist visas, but continued to accept applications for political and humanitarian asylum, including from citizens of Russia.
• In April of this year, the Seimas of Lithuania seriously limited the opportunity to purchase real estate in the country for citizens of Russia.