Lithuanian border guards prevented 20 foreign nationals from entering the country irregularly from Belarus on 27 July, marking the resumption of crossing attempts after a week-long pause.
According to Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), the migrants attempted to cross the border outside authorised checkpoints. All were turned back by Lithuanian officers.
The latest incident brings the total number of attempted irregular crossings prevented by Lithuania since the beginning of 2026 to 977. During the whole of 2025, Lithuanian authorities recorded 1,652 such attempts.
Latvia Remains Under the Greatest Pressure
The figures show that migratory pressure is currently unevenly distributed along the European Union’s border with Belarus. While Lithuania recorded 20 attempted crossings, Latvian border guards turned back 76 migrants on the same day. Polish authorities reported four attempted irregular crossings a day earlier.
Latvia has experienced considerably greater pressure in recent months. In mid-July, its border service reported that attempted crossings had been recorded every day for more than three months. Lithuania and Poland, meanwhile, accounted for only a relatively small proportion of all attempts registered along the EU’s border with Belarus.
Poland has also reported a sharp fall in pressure at its section of the border. By July, the number of attempted crossings from Belarus into Poland had reportedly declined by approximately 98 per cent compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
Border Crisis Continues
Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have faced organised migration pressure from Belarus since 2021. The three governments accuse the authorities in Minsk, supported by Russia, of facilitating the arrival of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia and directing them towards the EU’s external border.
The countries describe the practice as an instrument of hybrid pressure intended to destabilise NATO and EU members, strain their security services and generate political tensions. Belarus and Russia deny orchestrating the movement of migrants.
In May 2025, Lithuania brought a case against Belarus before the International Court of Justice, accusing Minsk of violating the United Nations protocol against migrant smuggling. Vilnius claims that Belarusian state institutions helped organise flights, visas and transportation before directing migrants towards the Lithuanian border.
The latest figures suggest that the route remains active despite reinforced barriers, surveillance systems and additional patrols. They also indicate that organised migratory pressure can quickly shift between different sections of the Belarusian border, forcing Lithuania, Latvia and Poland to maintain heightened readiness even during temporary periods of reduced activity.
