Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Mantas Adomenas says Lithuania will propose stepping up the sanctions for Russia by cutting it off from the SWIFT interbank payment system, as well as banning gas and oil imports.
"Russia had been getting ready for that as well, to try and mitigate that impact. The impact of sanctions is felt over a longer period of time. I understand that the majority wants everything to happen here and quick, but things do not happen like that. I believe that those countries that refuse Russian natural resources, be it natural gas or oil, so they would have the biggest impact," the minister told reporters on Friday.
Also, the decision to cut supplies of chips to Russia's electronics industry would have a "massive impact".
"There are lots of ways, sanctions different countries are joining, and they will have that impact but it might not happen today," Anusauskas admitted.
Adomenas says the so-called second sanction package for Russia, agreed by EU leaders on Thursday, covers export restrictions for dual-purpose (civilian and military) goods, aviation technology, especially oil production, electronics, and the financial sector.
Also, Adomenas said, financial sanctions are included, "covering 70 percent of the Russian banking market and state-owned companies", there are bans to sell aircraft and their parts, there's restricted access to technology, especially semiconductors, and new-generation software, visa issuance is suspended for Russian citizens, members of the Russian Duma, as well as others who recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk "republics" are banned from coming to the EU and their assets are frozen. Loans for Russia and its central banks are also banned.
"Once again, we will be calling for a third package immediately, further stepping up the sanctions. That, first of all, would mean SWIFT, as well as sanctioning oligarchs and their family members, which is not the case right now, and, in general, we need to move in that direction for Russia to be suspended politically and economically, its membership in international organizations to be suspended," Adomenas said.
Anusauskas also believes that renouncing Russian oil and gas imports would be "a very important step".
After several months of military buildup which saw Russia amassing some 150,000–200,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation against neighboring Ukraine early Thursday morning.