Lithuanian border guards turn back 31 irregular migrants at Belarusian border

Lithuanian border authorities prevented 31 irregular migrants from crossing into the country from Belarus last week, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) reported on Friday.

According to VSAT data, Latvian border guards turned back 44 migrants on Thursday, while Polish officials recorded no attempts on Wednesday. Since the start of this year, Lithuania has blocked 252 irregular migrants at its border with Belarus.

Last year, authorities registered over 1,600 attempts to enter Lithuania illegally from Belarus, compared to 1,002 such cases in the previous year. The surge in irregular migration to Eastern EU member states via Belarus began in 2021, with Western officials accusing Minsk of orchestrating the influx.