Trucks waiting 24-36 hours after closure of Lithuania checkpoints

March 7, Pozirk. Traveler traffic rose by 10 percent at the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border crossings that remain open between Lithuania and Belarus after Vilnius closed down two checkpoints on March 1, Sigitas Volainis, a Lithuanian border official, told Delfi.

The number of vehicles at the border soared by up to 40 percent with waiting time for trucks ranging from 24 to 36 hours and 4 to 5 hours for cars, he added.

Belarusians prefer to travel through Medininkai (Kamienny Łoh on the Belarusian side) to visit their family members or cemeteries, while some have property in Lithuania, Volainis said.

A small share of visitors from Belarus declare that they travel to Lithuania for shopping, he added. 

The Lithuanian side’s capacity allows for processing more vehicles but the Belarusian side has not adapted to the new conditions yet, he noted.

About 2,600 trucks were waiting in queues to enter the European Union as of 8 am on March 7, according to the Belarusian State Border Committee. Of these, 900 Lithuania-bound trucks were expecting border processing at Kamienny Łoh and 895, at Bieniakoni. The checkpoints’ capacity does not reportedly exceed 500 and 250 trucks per day, respectively.

Vilnius closed Lavoriškės (Katłoŭka) and Raigardas (Pryvałka) on March 1, citing national security, smuggling and international sanctions compliance as the reasons.