New interior minister says border guards must be allowed to use firearms for a secure border

Lithuania’s new interior minister, Martynas Katelynas, has stated that border guards must be permitted to use firearms to ensure the country’s border remains secure, LRT reports.

Katelynas, who recently took office in the new government led by Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius, emphasised that officials must feel political trust and that migration policy should serve national interests. Strengthening the internal security system should be a top priority, he said.

When asked if he would perform better than his predecessor, Vladislavas Kondratovičius, Katelynas declined to assess his own performance, stating that each minister operates under different circumstances and faces different crises. He believes his work should be judged by others after his term ends.

Addressing past criticism of his remarks during the 2021 irregular migration crisis and protests at the Rūdininkai training ground—where he compared Lithuanian officials to Belarusian OMON forces—Katelynas clarified that his criticism was directed at the Interior Ministry’s leadership decisions, not the officers themselves. He argued that the crisis was mismanaged, particularly in communication with local residents.

“The biggest mistake was not the dispersal of the protest but the crisis management and communication. First, authorities should have spoken to the people, explained the decisions. Instead, residents simply learned that migrants would be relocated to their area. Naturally, this provoked a reaction, and eventually, public security services had to intervene. The officers are not to blame—they followed orders,” he said.

On the use of lethal force to stop irregular migration, Katelynas stressed that his position applies only to exceptional cases where there is a direct threat to the lives of border guards, other individuals, or national security.

“If we ask officials to protect the state, we must give them the means to do so, including defending their own lives. During the migrant crisis, there may have been economic migrants, but who can guarantee that hybrid attacks won’t include armed individuals? If we want our border to be secure, we must allow border guards to use firearms,” he stated.

Katelynas also underscored the need for political trust in officials, saying they must have the right to use necessary means when facing life-threatening situations. He added that any abuse of power should be addressed by responsible institutions but reaffirmed his political trust in the officers.

Regarding secondary migration through Latvia, he did not rule out additional control measures at the Lithuanian-Latvian border if current efforts prove insufficient. Lithuania has already sent border guards to assist Latvia, but further steps may be needed to prevent the country from becoming a transit hub.

“We cannot become a state where anyone can pass through and the border is just a line on a map,” he said.

Katelynas concluded that migration policy must balance economic needs with national security interests, ensuring that migration serves Lithuania’s well-being without compromising safety. Highly skilled specialists should face no additional barriers, he noted, while long-term foreign residents should integrate properly.