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On 23 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys addressed Minister of the Interior Martynas Katelynas with a request to add Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman to the national list of foreigners banned from entering the Republic of Lithuania. According to publicly available data, Usmanov and Fridman are among the most influential businessmen in the Russian Federation, operating in economic sectors that constitute an important source of revenue for the Russian government, which is responsible for the ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

On 22 September 2026, the Council of the European Union extended individual sanctions against Russia for a further 36 months, but the Russian above-mentioned businesspersons were removed from the EU sanctions list due to the political interests of certain EU member states. When EU member states decided on the extension of individual sanctions against Russia, Lithuania consistently maintained its position throughout the negotiation process and opposed the removal of these individuals from the EU sanctions list. Consequently, Lithuania abstained from voting on the  Council of the European Union's decision to remove these individuals from the EU sanctions list.

In view of the situation, and in accordance with Article 133(4) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, which provides that an alien can be denied entry if there are concrete, serious grounds to believe they actively or publicly support and/or participate in actions by a foreign government that breach international law, Minister Budrys proposed imposing a five-year entry ban on Usmanov and Fridman.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also preparing legal acts to propose the freezing of funds and economic resources of Usmanov and Fridman, in accordance with the Republic of Lithuania Law on Imposing Restrictive Measures Regarding the Military Aggression Against Ukraine.