Russian guards detain Lithuanian fisherman after boat crosses border

LRT reported that Lithuanian border guards helped a 61-year-old fisherman return from the Russian-controlled part of Vištytis Lake after he accidentally crossed the state border.

The man from Kaunas was fishing on Wednesday evening in a rubber motorboat on the border lake when the boat’s engine became stuck in vegetation. He lost control of the boat, and waves carried it into Russian territory.

Russian border guards detained him and, after questioning, fined him for illegally crossing the state border.

On Thursday afternoon, officers from the Vištytis border post of the State Border Guard Service’s Pagėgiai border unit arranged a meeting with Russian border guards. The fisherman and his boat were then returned to Lithuania.

Lithuanian border guards said anglers on Vištytis Lake often choose fishing spots close to the Lithuanian-Russian border. They urged fishermen to assess weather conditions, check their boats’ technical condition and remain aware of their location to avoid crossing the border.

Vištytis Lake covers about 1,860 hectares. Under a Lithuanian-Russian border treaty that entered into force in 2003, about one-fifth of the lake, or roughly 386 hectares, belongs to Lithuania.