LTG provide Russian passengers with free internet at border stations. To use it, they have to view images of Russia's war in Ukraine

To provide passengers travelling from Russia to the Kaliningrad region with access to objective information, Lithuanian Railways (LTG) has activated free wireless internet access at the railway stations of Kena and Kybartai. During the hour that transit trains are at the stations, passengers from Moscow, Adler and St. Petersburg who want to use the internet will first have to look at photos of the Russian war in Ukraine.

Passengers from Russia go online first to the welcome page: "Welcome to a free country! We don't want you to be put in jail in Russia for knowledge that can be read and shared online. That's why we invite you to use it without restrictions here and now - you can browse all the time while the train is at the station."

However, there is a prerequisite: you can only use the internet after you have viewed photos of the tragic images of Russia's war in Ukraine and clicked on a consent button with the statement "I want to know the truth about Russia's war in Ukraine". Passengers who do so are informed that they can easily access the social networks Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, which are banned in Russia and are offered a list of at least a few Lithuanian and foreign news portals where objective information in Russian can be found, as well as YouTube videos reflecting the reality of the war.

"This is an opportunity to draw the attention of Russian citizens to the Russian government's war against Ukraine and encourage them not to remain indifferent. By providing access to websites blocked in Russia, we are recording the first active logins. We hope that passengers who want to use the internet will take the time to look at the images of the war and seek objective information. If they think for a moment that it is worthwhile to take an interest and share, this initiative of our team will be meaningful," says Egidijus Lazauskas, LTG CEO.

Transit trains from Moscow to Kaliningrad and back run every day. There are also transit trains from Adler and St Petersburg to Kaliningrad and back. On average, 100 transit trains per month pass to and from Kaliningrad combined. On average, 100 people travel per train.

For some time now, photographs depicting the Russian war against Ukraine have been displayed on Vilnius and Kena railway stations, where the transit trains stop. It is a joint initiative of the LTG and the Lithuanian Press Photographers' Club and has been met with mixed reactions from passengers on transit trains. Some take a glance at the photos through the window, others look at them more closely and even start taking photos or videos.

 

Source: LTG Newsroom