Lithuania’s Vičiūnai Group, which continues to operate in Russia and is included in the list of international war sponsors in Ukraine, does not violate the law but could make a moral choice, Asta Skaisgirytė, chief foreign policy advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, has said.
“There is certainly a legal aspect, another aspect is moral and, of course, the company could make a choice that is more on the moral side,” Skaisgirytė told the Žiniu Radijas radio on Tuesday.
In her words, the company is not in breach of any legislation as the food industry is not subject to international sanctions.
Last week, Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) added Vičiūnai Group, controlled by Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis and his business partner Liudas Skierus, to the list of international war sponsors because of its continued operations in Russia.
The move also means that the Lithuanian company is included in the global World Check database of high-risk individuals and organizations to help identify and manage financial and reputational risks. This is not good news for Lithuania, according to Skaisgirytė.
“Certainly, when the Ukrainians blacklisted this company, it was not good news for Lithuania. To be fair, it should be said that this company is not the only one on the blacklist, there are companies from other countries, and the list is not a short one,” she said.
Vičiūnai Group, one of the largest manufacturers of fish products in Europe, announced that it would leave the Russian market and close its factory in Kaliningrad after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but has not done so yet.
Kaunas Mayor Matijošaitis has repeatedly said that the company is gradually withdrawing from the Russian market and is looking for a buyer for its factory in Kaliningrad’s Sovetsk.
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