Delfi's Ärileht reported that Lux Express, owned by businessman Hugo Osula, has been doing business in Russia for years. While the firm made a loss in Russia during the coronavirus years, its Russian subsidiary AO Eurolines started doing much better in 2022, the year the Ukraine war started.

Lux Express explains in its annual report that the share of refugees leaving occupied territories in Ukraine through Russia started growing rapidly on its St. Petersburg lines from April 2022. The Russian activities of AO Eurolines and Lux Express are not prohibited as the field does not fall under sanctions.

Ingmar Roos, head of Estonian business for Lux Express, told Ärileht that EU sanctions have an exception for public transport – it is an EU decision aimed at enabling a certain group of people to retain cross-border mobility.

"Therefore, Lux Express is following the EU policy according to which, irrespective of the war of aggression, people must be offered the minimum means of mobility. It is our position that visiting Russia for the purposes of commerce, tourism etc. is unethical and not recommended, while we understand the EU's general position that essential carriage of passenger services must be continued," Roos noted.

Lux Express operates two lines that pass through Russia: its Tallinn-St. Petersburg and Riga-St. Petersburg connections. The company has 41 employees in Russia, 24 of them bus drivers. Ingmar Roos said that AO Eurolines made €2.7 million in profit in 2022 and €6 million in 2023.

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