Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė announced on Thursday that she had spoken with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who agreed to postpone the reopening of Poland’s border with Belarus.
The decision follows Lithuania’s move to temporarily close its own border with Belarus for one month due to repeated violations of its airspace by so-called “smuggling balloons” originating from Belarus. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said earlier this week that Vilnius and Warsaw were coordinating efforts to strengthen border security, emphasizing that joint actions would be more effective.
Just two days earlier, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Tusk had said that Poland was preparing to reopen two border crossings with Belarus — in Bobrowniki and Kuźnica, both in the Podlaskie region — by November. These crossings have been closed for years amid ongoing tensions with the Belarusian regime.
Poland’s border with Belarus has remained largely sealed since the migration crisis that began in 2021, when Belarus orchestrated attempts by migrants to cross into the European Union. The Bobrowniki crossing was closed in February 2023 after Belarus sentenced Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut. Currently, only the railway crossings at Kuźnica and Siemianówka remain open, serving freight traffic only.
Officials from both countries stated that the decision to delay the reopening is a precautionary measure in light of recent provocations and will be revisited once the security situation stabilizes.
