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Lithuania says it “returned” 18 undocumented migrants to Belarus
Migrants emerging from the tunnel
May 8, Pozirk. The Lithuanian Border Guard Service reported on May 8 that it had sent 18 undocumented migrants back to Belarus after they crossed into Lithuania through a tunnel under the fence in Varėna district.
“All these men, who identified themselves as nationals of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, were returned to Belarus,” the statement said.
The migrants were spotted via video surveillance and apprehended in a forest.
Border guards also detained two Ukrainians suspected of arriving in the area to pick up seven undocumented migrants.
This was the second tunnel-related incident reported in 2026. The previous case was reported on April 6.
“Such tunnels are dug, and migrants are trying to crawl through them into Lithuania clearly with the knowledge of Belarusian officials,” the Lithuanian Border Guard Service charged.
Meanwhile, Belarus routinely accuses border guards in neighboring European Union countries of violently pushing migrants back across the border. Pushbacks — the practice of forcing migrants and asylum seekers back across borders without due process — are generally considered illegal under international law.
Lithuania has reported 731 irregular border crossings this year.
Latvia has been the main target of irregular migration this year. The country’s State Border Guard recorded 2,097 attempts between March 25 and May 4, an average of 51 a day, including 216 incidents since May 1.
Since the start of the year, Latvia has accounted for 71.8 percent of all incidents reported by Belarus’ EU neighbors.
Meanwhile, Poland has not reported any incidents for 18 days, while Lithuania has reported none for the past two days.
Poland’s recent respite may be linked to political dynamics involving Minsk, which appears capable of redirecting migration pressure across the region.
Poland recorded a sharp decline in irregular migration after reopening the Kuźnica Białostocka–Bruzhi and Bobrowniki–Bierastavica crossings to traffic on November 17, in a move hailed by Minsk as “constructive.” In late April, Minsk released and handed over to Poland journalist and Polish minority activist Andrej Pačobut (Andrzej Poczobut), as well as Polish monk Grzegorz Gaweł, as part of a five-for-five exchange at the Belarusian-Polish border.
Overall, the EU’s neighboring countries registered 3,119 irregular border-crossing attempts this year, compared with 9,485 during the same period last year.
The flow of people seeking to enter the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, indicated that Minsk would no longer prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route into the bloc.
In June 2021, the Belarusian government suspended a readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions imposed after the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.
Latvia, Lithuania and Poland described the migration crisis as a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.
Latvian border guards use duty gear to force aggressive migrant back to Belarus
May 6, Pozirk. Latvian border guards used duty gear to force an aggressive migrant back to Belarus on May 3, the country’s State Border Guard reported. It noted that the man “did not react to border guards’ orders to go …
