The Russian hacker group called Killnet said it will continue its major cyber attack on Lithuania as a direct response to Vilnius' decision to block the transit of some goods to Kaliningrad. The group claims it has already cut off 70 percent of Lithuanian internet infrastructure from the rest of the web, which it says took just 39 hours. The group tweeted: "At the moment, Lithuania is in sadder conditions than Kaliningrad. And we keep our promise!"

In an earlier tweet, the group had warned: "Let me explain on my fingers: - Web integration of Lithuanian websites and electronic systems is in the "Blockade", that is, "Geo block", web traffic and other means of communication are available only within the republic.

"Thus, we are disrupting Lithuania's network interaction with the rest of the world."

Lithuania's deputy Defence Minister Margiris Abukevicius said: "The main targets are state institutions, transport institutions, media websites."

A Killnet spokesperson has said that the attack will not stop until the blockade is lifted, warning that 1,652 web resources have already been demolished "just so far".



It said: "Thanks to our attacks, they are still available only from Lithuanian IP addresses, and their speed, to put it mildly, leaves much to be desired."

Now, it is urging Lithuania to lift the blockade.

The hackers said in a message sent via Telegram: "We continue to hint unequivocally to the Lithuanian authorities that they should immediately withdraw their decision to ban the transit of Russian cargo from the Kaliningrad region to Russia."

The enclave of Kaliningrad lies on the Baltic Sea and uses a rail link to Russia via Lithuania, which allowed Lithuania to ban the transit of steel and other ferrous metals under EU sanctions to the region.

But Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has said that Russia has made false claims about the blockade of its territorial outpost in the enclave.

She said: "Lithuania is complying with the sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia for its aggression and war against Ukraine."

It came after EU sanctions on steel were slapped down in March, but a three-month transition period was allowed to so existing contracts were not ripped up.

Russian security council chief Nikolai Patrushev had earlier warned that the move would result in a "serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania".

Lithuania said it started to see the early signs of attack as early as June 21.

The country's National Cyber Security Centre has now warned in a statement the attacks will likely continue, not appearing to cave to the pressure to lift the blockade.

Jonas Skardinskas, its acting director, said: "It is very likely that attacks of similar or greater intensity will continue in the coming days, especially in the transportation, energy and financial sectors."

Now, other cyber attacks involving website defacements, ransomware, and other destructive measures are expected in the coming days.