Illegal Belarus-EU border crossings soar to 201 in 24 hours

May 5, BPN. The European Union has not allowed 201 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported that it foiled 16 attempts in the Lithuanian-Belarusian border area on May 4, while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 108 attempts

The Polish Border Guard said that 77 foreigners, including nationals of Ghana, Tunis and Eritrea, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus. 

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded a total of 11,503 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 8,183 attempts via Poland, 2,375 via Latvia and 945 via Lithuania. 

Border crossing attempts rose from 1,989 and 2,034 in January and February to 3,401 and 3,440 in March and April, respectively.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated in November 2021 when thousands of migrants set up a camp near the Polish border. The Baltic states and Poland accused Belarusian authorities of creating the trouble, while the latter blamed it on the West.

Migration figures had dropped significantly by the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but have risen more recently. Poland has been leading as the main destination for illegal migrants in 2023.