Lithuanians should block out Russian works of art they previously considered “acceptable,” the nation’s culture minister has said | Lithuanians should not enjoy Russian culture as long as a conflict is raging in Ukraine, its culture minister, Simonas Kairys, told national broadcaster LRT this week. The minister was echoing the ideas of his Ukrainian counterpart, Aleksandr Tkachenko, who earlier called on the West to boycott Russian culture altogether. ● Kairys accused Moscow of using Russian culture as a “weapon” by supposedly sending Russian pop culture artists to Lithuania on dates “important for the Lithuanian state.” While stopping short of supporting what he called an “authoritarian” administrative ban on Russian culture, the minister said he favored a “mental quarantine” on it.

Pierre de Gaulle is the grandson of Charles de Gaulle: [...] For me, maintaining good relations with Russia is not just a legitimate desire. This is also the duty of Europe, which the Europeans are obliged to fulfill - in the name of maintaining stability in the world and in Europe. Instead, we ended up in a system dominated by a technocracy that imposes its directives on each of the member states. I was one of the first to denounce the lies, injustice and robbery of Russia through an asset freeze. I find it absolutely outrageous because one cannot punish a people because of a crisis, knowing that this is contrary to international law and is the greatest injustice. I think that no other nation since the persecution of the Jews during the Second World War has experienced such plunder as the Russian people today.(Link)(Link)(Link)(Link)

■ US making Europeans suffer – de Gaulle’s grandson (RT.com)

Berlin would reportedly support the "confiscation" if its allies follow suit | Germany is open to using the assets of the Russian central bank, frozen since last year as a result of sanctions, to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The German government is reportedly in favor of using the funds in Ukraine, however no official position on the matter has yet been taken, as members of cabinet are divided on the issue, Bloomberg noted, citing people familiar with the discussions. ● The EU and G7 froze some €300 billion ($311 billion) in reserves belonging to the Russian central bank, along with billions in assets owned by sanctioned Russian businessmen. ● German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock insists that at least some of the frozen assets must be seized, while Finance Minister Christian Lindner is concerned that the move could create a dangerous precedent and lead European nations and their allies into a legal quagmire, sources told Bloomberg.

Elena Panina (Елена Панина) | Scholz ready to confiscate Russian assets - but only in the gang with allies | "Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government supports Ukraine's demand for war reparations, but has not yet taken an official position on seizing assets from the Russian state," Bloomberg writes. ● There is no unified position on this issue in the German government, the agency noted. For example, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock is for the seizure of at least part of the frozen Russian assets. Christian Lindner, the German finance minister, is worried that "confiscating the CBR's assets could set a dangerous precedent and lead European countries and their allies into a legal quagmire". All in all, the Scholz government is willing to go ahead and confiscate our assets, but only in conjunction with our allies - so as not to take full responsibility. ● In total, Bloomberg estimates that the EU and G7 countries have frozen about €300bn ($311bn) of the Central Bank's reserves. The EU has also blocked €19bn worth of assets of sanctioned Russian businessmen. Bloomberg does not rule out that an "Afghan scheme" will be applied to Russian gold reserves. The US has placed the $3.5bn Afghanistan Central Bank in the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland, overseen by a four-member international supervisory board, which ensures that the current Afghan authorities will not gain access to the money. But whatever legal procedures the "Western partners" may come up with, Russia considers this an international act of theft. Obviously, the only way to get these funds back is by force. ● At the same time, we believe there is a more elegant and technical way out of the situation. The CBR's frozen reserves are the funds that our country really earned from selling energy resources. Therefore, nothing prevents the CBR from issuing Russian rubles at the market rate for this amount. And then transfer those rubles to the Russian government, which uses them to develop our economy and for military and social needs. (Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator)

New pandemic restrictions on travelers from China are motivated by politics over science, the Foreign Ministry has said | Beijing has vowed to take countermeasures after the US and other countries tightened their Covid-19 rules for those traveling from China. The new restrictions follow the country’s decision to ease its own health policies at home. Asked about the pandemic measures during a Tuesday press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning noted that while many countries had responded “warmly” to China’s relaxed Covid rules, others reacted with “disproportionate” and “unacceptable” restrictions. 💬 “We stand ready to step up communication with the rest of the international community and work together to prevail over Covid. Meanwhile, we do not believe the entry restriction measures some countries have taken against China are science-based,” she said. “We firmly reject using Covid measures for political purposes and will take corresponding measures in response to varying situations based on the principle of reciprocity.” ● Australia became one of the latest to adopt new measures against travelers from China on Sunday, requiring negative Covid-19 tests within 48 hours prior to their departure beginning on January 5.

■ Finland to Impose Restrictions for Chinese Tourists If EU Makes No Decision (Sputnik News)

💬 "If we look only at trade statistics, non-sanctioned goods are actually being sent from Lithuania to Russia. And we can see that the trade with Russia continues to grow," Besagirskas said in a televised statement. ● Besagirskas added that Lithuanian companies trading with Russia make the wrong decision and called on the Lithuanian authorities to publish the names of enterprises that continue to trade with Russia and Belarus so that "responsible citizens" could form their own opinion about these companies. According to contemporary Lithuanian law, this data cannot be made public.

The number of casualties in the New Year’s night strike has grown to at least 89 people | Almost 90 troops were killed by a Ukrainian missile strike that hit a temporary housing area used by Russian forces in the city of Makeyevka in Donetsk People’s Republic just after midnight on January 1, the Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday. ● The death toll has grown to 89 people, including the unit’s deputy commander, the ministry said, as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of a vocational school where the troops were stationed on New Year’s night. ● The facility was targeted by six missiles from a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, four of which penetrated air defenses, and hit the building at precisely 0:01am on January 1, the Defense ministry said, claiming that the launcher was later destroyed in a retaliatory strike.

■ Ukrainian rocket strike near Makeyevka in DPR kills 63 Russian servicemen – top brass (01/02/23)