Interior minister proposes dismissing border guard chief Liubajevas

Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas has proposed dismissing Rustamas Liubajevas as head of the State Border Guard Service, LRT reported Tuesday. The proposal would take effect on Wednesday if approved by the government.

The government is expected to consider the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday. It was included in a draft government resolution registered by the Interior Ministry on Tuesday.

Liubajevas decided to step down while law enforcement investigates an incident at the border and an internal review examines how the State Border Guard Service leadership informed the public about it. He informed Katelynas of his decision on Monday.

Discussion about Liubajevas’s future began after reports emerged about an incident in late July in the territory of the Kapčiamiestis border station. According to those reports, four border guards set up an ambush after a tunnel being dug beneath the state border was discovered.

The officers detained several migrants and handcuffed them, but about 20 foreigners attacked the border guards during the detention. The officers were forced to flee, while the irregular migrants, including those who had been handcuffed, escaped to Belarus.

The State Border Guard Service announced that a tunnel had been found and that migrants had escaped, but did not mention the attack on the officers. The Delfi news portal reported the incident citing sources, while the Lrytas portal reported last week that one officer had been injured.

Liubajevas has led the State Border Guard Service since December 2019. He was appointed to a first term then and to a second term at the end of 2024. Before that, he served as chief adviser to the Interior Ministry’s Public Security Policy Group.