{"id":182543,"date":"2026-04-07T11:19:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/182543\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:19:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:19:24","slug":"belarus-baltic-neighbors-see-spikes-in-irregular-migration-since-years-start","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/182543\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus\u2019 Baltic neighbors see spikes in irregular migration since year\u2019s start"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 7, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The migration pressure at the border between Belarus and the European Union has persisted this year, with spikes in irregular crossings reported by Latvia and Lithuania, according to Pozirk<\/em>\u2019s analysis of border guards’ data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia did not record any attempts in January but thwarted 20 attempts in February, 295 in March and 245 in the first six days of April. Irregular crossings into Lithuania jumped from 15 and 25 in January and February, respectively, to 149 in March and 121 since the start of April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland saw a gradual increase in irregular crossings via Belarus in the first quarter of the year, with no attempts reported since the start of this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 western neighbors have not allowed 1,028 undocumented third-country foreigners to cross irregularly since the start of 2026, with attempts dropping nearly fivefold compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia was the primary target with 560 irregular crossings since January, followed by Lithuania with 310 attempts and Poland with 158 attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flow of people desperate to cross into the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2021, the Belarusian government suspended a readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions that followed the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland call the migration crisis a \u201chybrid attack\u201d orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland signed a joint declaration on February 26 to strengthen cooperation and beef up border security and respond to hybrid threats. The governments committed \u201cto resist the instrumentalization of migration and other hybrid threats at the external borders of the EU, including land, sea, and airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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