President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine and President Dalia Grybauskaitė of Lithuania have called to toughen sanctions against the Russian Federation for its aggression in the basin of the Sea of Azov.

"We herewith call on our international partners to impose harsh sanctions [on Russia] to stop Russia's aggressive encroachments in the Black and Azov Seas and restore free navigation in that region," Poroshenko told a press conference in Kyiv on December 7 he held jointly with Grybauskaitė.

He thanked his Lithuanian counterpart for Lithuania imposing sanctions against all those involved in the aggressive actions in the Black Sea.

"Today we know that international organizations have not imposed any sanctions in response to Russia's actions. We have imposed our own national sanctions as an act of protest against the actions done by the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait," Grybauskaitė said.

The Lithuanian head of state said those sanctions apply, in particular, to individuals who, from now on, will not be able to do business or other activities in Lithuania, and "in this way, they will bear the responsibility for the attack" on the Ukrainian naval vessels.

Also, Grybauskaitė recalled that Lithuania continues to assist Ukraine in humanitarian issues and sends its cybersecurity instructors to teach in Ukraine.

She also said Lithuania has supported the sanctions that had been imposed by the international community against the Russian Federation and also calls to toughen them.