Minister says Lithuanian border guards need greater force powers
Monday 10th August 2026 on 09:15 in
Lithuania
Lithuania’s Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas says border guards have the right to use greater force both to protect the country’s border and to defend themselves, LRT reported Monday.
Kaunas said he supported the position of Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas that officers of the State Border Guard Service should be allowed to use greater force to protect themselves and the state.
“We have reached the point where officers sometimes hesitate to use even a firearm because they may later face lengthy legal proceedings,” Kaunas told LRT radio. He said the state needed to find the right balance between legal requirements and protecting the country.
Border guards have recently encountered attempts by illegal migrants to enter the country through tunnels. Kaunas said the fact that the tunnels were being discussed publicly showed that the system was able to identify them, but acknowledged that they posed an additional threat to migration policy and national security.
He also described uncontrolled migration from Latvia as a threat, saying authorities needed to know who was entering the country and for what purpose so they could check those people and make decisions.
Katelynas said last week that border guards had all the necessary means to defend themselves, but that fear of criminal prosecution could affect whether they used them. He referred to legal proceedings against one border guard who used a weapon while on duty, saying the case could discourage other officers from doing the same.
According to BNS, the Vilnius Regional Court is currently hearing the case against border guard Karolis Ilgevičius, who is charged with murder and abuse of office. He is accused of shooting at the wheel of a fleeing smuggler’s vehicle and killing the driver after he failed to obey officers.
State Border Guard Service commander Rustamas Liubajevas said last week that attempts to cross the border through tunnels had increased, with more than 10 such cases recorded since January.