Lithuanian minister wants to track Russian transit routes

Lithuania should set routes for Russian citizens travelling through the country by car to improve oversight, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said, according to LRT.

Katelynas said his ministry had been tasked with finding a way to record the specific route taken by transit vehicles. This would require travellers to enter at one border crossing and follow a designated route to leave through Kaliningrad, or do the reverse, he said.

Recording transit licence plates with existing technology could help authorities identify vehicles travelling elsewhere in Lithuania and respond to violations, the minister said.

On Tuesday, the Seimas rejected amendments proposed by conservative lawmaker Arvydas Anušauskas to cut the permitted transit time for Russian travellers in Lithuania. Anušauskas proposed setting a six-hour limit for direct transit, replacing the current 24-hour allowance.

Katelynas said reducing the time limit would be ineffective and counterproductive, increasing the number of violations without preventing Russian citizens travelling by car from reaching other parts of Lithuania. He said setting routes would address the problem.

Last year, nearly 13,000 passenger cars with Russian registration plates travelled through Lithuania using simplified transit documents, according to the State Border Guard Service. The number of recorded abuses of the system rose more than fourfold, from 360 in 2024 to 1,493 in 2025.