A few months after the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania
started implementing EU sanctions, which blocked about 50% of the goods being imported into Kaliningrad by rail. Food, medicine, and passenger travel were exempted. Russia protested against the sanctions and announced it would increase shipments by sea.
[74][75] In May 2023, Poland officially adopted a new name for the Kaliningrad region, changing it from "Obwód Kaliningradzki" to "Obwód Królewiecki",
Królewiec being the historical Polish name for the city of Kaliningrad. The reason given for the change is that
Mikhail Kalinin, a member of the
Soviet Politburo, was among those responsible for the
Katyn massacre, having co-signed the order to murder thousands of Polish prisoners of war.
[76]