Government delays decision on Škarnulis as border guard chief

The Lithuanian government did not consider Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas’s proposal to appoint Donatas Škarnulis as permanent head of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) on Wednesday. LRT reported that the issue is expected to be considered at the government’s next meeting on November 11.

The proposal was not on Wednesday’s meeting agenda. Katelynas told reporters that the government’s office would include it on the agenda for the next meeting, adding that the appointment required coordination and legal reviews.

Škarnulis has been temporarily leading the service. Katelynas said he expected him to be appointed, and that a one-week delay would not be a problem. The minister had proposed making the appointment effective from November 5; it is now planned for November 11.

Katelynas said in early October that he had chosen Škarnulis for the post because of his lengthy experience in the internal affairs system. Škarnulis began his career in 2000 as a specialist in the border guard service of the Border Police Department’s headquarters. He worked at the State Security Department from 2002 to 2005, then held several posts in the VSAT, including head of its criminal investigations division from 2018. He was appointed deputy head of the service in January 2025 and received the rank of internal service colonel in 2024.

In August, the news website Lrytas reported, citing sources, that an incident had taken place in Lazdijai district, on the border with Belarus, involving border guards and migrants who had emerged from a tunnel. One officer was reportedly beaten, and an attempt was made to drag him towards Belarus. Katelynas said that if the information was confirmed, he would see no way for then-VSAT chief Rustamas Liubajevas to remain in the post. On August 17, the minister said Liubajevas had decided to step down. He had led the service since 2019 and was appointed to a second term in 2024.