By Correspondent
The 17 fire trucks bought in Belarus by Zimbabwe and impounded by Lithuania could be on their way to Ukraine.
Sputnik Lithuania quoted the prosecutor-general of the Baltic state, Nida Grunskienė, as saying that.
“A pre-trial investigation is being conducted and the prosecutor has made a decision.
“If I’m not mistaken, 17 machines that were to go to Zimbabwe should be confiscated.
“The issue of their possible transfer to Ukraine is being decided,” she said.
In March 2023, Lithuania seized 17 fire trucks from the port of Klaipeda which were being shipped to Zimbabwe.
The shipment was suspected of breaching EU sanctions against Belarus.
Zimbabwe was informed about this through diplomatic channels.
In a bid to overturn the decision Prosecutor General Virginia Mabhiza visited Lithuania in early 2024.
She engaged local authorities about the fire trucks but failed to make any progress.
“We were given an explanation that the fire trucks or some of their components were manufactured by a Belarusian company under EU sanctions.
“Zimbabwe claims that we are an innocent third party who bought fire trucks,” Mabhiza said.
Belarus is under severe sanctions from Western countries, which have almost completely blocked the republic’s ability to ship its products through the Baltic countries.
Previously, Belarusian property was confiscated only in Ukraine.
In 2023 President Mnangagwa commissioned 23 firefighting trucks out of a total of 133 also acquired from Belarus.
