What truck drivers say about the situation and how the Lithuanian authorities plan to solve this problem - in Svoboda's report from the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.

What worsens the movement across the border between Lithuania and Belarus

There are 8 border crossings on the border between Belarus and Lithuania.

The Beniakoni - Stasylos crossing, which is intended for freight rail transportation, has been closed since February 16 at the initiative of Lithuania.

The following checkpoints are currently operating on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border:

  • Vidzy — Tverėčius (passage is available for cars and empty trucks, the border cannot be crossed on foot or by bicycle).

  • Katlovka — Lavoriškės (passage is available for cargo and passenger transport, you can also cross the border by bicycle).

  • Losha — Šumskas (passage is available only for cars, you can also cross the border by bicycle).

  • Kamenny Log — Medniki / Medininkai (passage is available for cargo and passenger transport, you can also cross the border by bicycle).

  • Benyakoni — Šalčininkai (passage is available for cargo and passenger vehicles, you can also cross the border by bicycle).

  • Privalka — Raigardas / Raigardas (passage is available for cargo and passenger transport, you can also cross the border by bicycle).

  • Gudagai — Kena (only for freight rail transportation).

Before the covid pandemic, you could get to Lithuania from Belarus by regular trains, the journey took less than 3 hours.

From 2020, there will be no passenger rail connections with Lithuania, the Lithuanian side made such a decision after the start of the pandemic.

In the spring of 2021, a migration crisis arose on the border of Belarus and Lithuania - Belarus allowed migrants from Syria, Iraq and some African countries to pass through its territory.

This led to tension in the border zone and constant clashes between Lithuanian border guards and migrants.

During the migration crisis, several hundreds of migrants were detained at the border per day, in total, more than 15,000 migrants from Belarus were not allowed to enter Lithuania.

As of June last year, 2,600 migrants who came from the territory of Belarus remained in Lithuania.

In September 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Lithuania announced its intention to close the border with Belarus to tourists altogether, but this did not happen.

Closure of border crossings between Poland and Belarus.

What you should know

  • In July 2021,

    Alexander Lukashenko

    said that due to sanctions, Belarus will no longer curb illegal migration to EU countries.

    Poland has become one of the countries to which flows of migrants rushed.

    Responding to the crisis, Poland, like Lithuania, began building a wall on the border with Belarus, and on November 9, 2021, closed the Kuznica Bialystok - Bruzgi crossing.

  • In Warsaw, Lukashenka's regime was accused of organizing illegal migration to EU countries in order to blackmail EU countries and demand the lifting of sanctions.

    Polish Prime Minister

    Mateusz Morawiecki

    expressed confidence that the scenario of "hybrid aggression" against the European Union was not developed by Minsk independently, but in close cooperation with Moscow.

  • On February 9, 2023, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Poland,

    Mariusz Kaminski,

    announced the decision to close the Bobrowniki-Berastawicz border crossing, starting from February 10.

    This was Poland's response to the political sentence against journalist

    Andrzej Pachobut

    , an activist of the Polish national minority in Belarus.

    He was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

  • There are a total of 6 checkpoints on the Belarusian-Polish border.

    From February 10, 2023, only one of them is open for cars and one for trucks, in Brest.

Border crossings on the border of Belarus and Poland.

Infographics

  • Brest (Terespol on the Polish side) — valid only for cars;

  • Kozlovichi (Kukuriki) — passage is allowed only for trucks;

  • Bruzgi (Kuznitsa Bialystokskaya) — closed in 2021;

  • Berastovitsa (Bobrovniki), - closed from February 10, 2023;

  • Piaschatka (Polawtsi) - does not function on the initiative of the Polish side;

  • Damachava (Slovatychy) - does not function on the initiative of the Polish side.

    • The border crossing with Lithuania "Privalka - Raigardas" continues to operate near Hrodna.

      It is located close to the border with Poland.

    • At a press conference in Brussels on February 10, the Polish Prime Minister noted that Warsaw is considering the option of closing the remaining two border crossings with Belarus.

      He stated that the Russians and the Kremlin are treating Belarus "instrumentally", and this poses a great threat to Poland and Ukraine.

    • Before the border crossing in Bobrovniki was closed, at least 12 customs officers were detained there.

      It may be about bribery.

      This was reported by Gazeta Wyborcza.

      The publication received information about the detention of customs officers on the night of February 11, already after the border crossing was closed.

    • On February 13, the Border Committee of Belarus reported that the number of cars at other crossings increased by 16% during the first weekend after the closure of Bobrovniki.