Man enters Russia after ignoring border warning signs

A man walking along the Baltic coast on the Curonian Spit entered Russian territory after apparently ignoring warning signs, LRT reported on Monday, citing Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service. Russian authorities later said they had detained him and that he was a Polish citizen.

Border guards monitoring the coast spotted the man on Sunday afternoon. He was walking over the dunes without carrying any large items, then went down to the shore and continued towards Russia.

Bright yellow signs in several languages mark the state border protection zone on the Curonian Spit. Entry into the zone requires a permit, and the actual border lies several hundred metres beyond the signs. Patrol officers from the Neringa border guard unit were dispatched after the man was spotted, but he had already walked several hundred metres towards Russia and soon crossed the border.

Lithuanian border guards later received confirmation through an official border liaison channel that Russian guards had detained the man. The service has registered the incident and is clarifying the circumstances to determine whether to open a pre-trial investigation into illegal border crossing.

The service said such crossings along the coast are very rare. The most recent similar crossing from Lithuania into Russia was recorded in 2018, while a crossing in the opposite direction was recorded in 2017.