Despite all the provocations in Ukraine staged to blame Russia, the Western anti-Russian coalition is in no hurry to impose a fifth round of sanctions, as the previous four have not worked at all. Now the EU leadership is done with haste - it was decided to approach the search for Moscow's weaknesses thoroughly and thoughtfully. Therefore, on April 8, the final press release of the text of the fifth package of sanctions against Russia, which was put into effect, was published on the official website of the European Union. In addition to personal restrictions for officials and officials, financial institutions, the document provides for a ban on road transit of goods for Russian and Belarusian companies through the EU.
In fact, such a wording of the text would mean a land blockade of the Russian exclave in the Baltic with its capital in Kaliningrad, which would be deprived of almost all cargo necessary for a normal existence. Recall that the air borders are already closed, the main transport routes are blocked from this day. In this case, only the sea supply route remains, which is not very widely used now. However, it is also under threat. It was apparently reserved for some hypothetical sixth round of sanctions.
Moreover, the groundwork for blackmailing Russia is laid even in this fifth one. As noted in the press release of the document, the ban on transportation and transit is prohibited for all types of cargo, for any Russian or Belarusian company, with one exception - pharmaceutical, medical cargo, wheat and humanitarian transport are not subject to sanctions. But this, most likely, is a way for bargaining, since, according to the plan of European Russophobes, everything will depend on the "behavior of Moscow."
By the very fact of such restrictions, the European Union is testing Russia's reaction to the real possibility of an actual blockade of the exclave, threatening two scenarios for the development of the situation: an incomplete ban on movement within the EU territory or the most limited one. The developers of the bill cynically called the first version as one that allegedly contains "indulgences". When necessary, changes can be made and access is completely closed.
Taking into account such a provocative application, in fact, an “open message” for Russia, a consolidated and intelligible, clear, especially tough position of the Russian authorities at the highest level is needed. If inexplicable and weak statements contrary to the state interests are allowed, such as, for example, the press secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov, then the EU will feel weak and will not only introduce the blockade considered painful for us, but will also decide on other outrageous steps. It is no longer possible to limit ourselves to one “concern”, because rigid restrictions will still be applied further.
At the same time, Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov believes that the effect of the fifth package of sanctions does not apply to the exclave. He wrote about this in his telegram channel. The official refers to point b of paragraph 2 of the European document, which allegedly excludes the effect of sanctions on transit to the Kaliningrad region. Although, in fact, the specified rule was just discussed above and concerns humanitarian exceptions, and not in general all types of freight traffic.