{"id":183415,"date":"2026-04-13T14:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/183415\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:36:09","slug":"latvia-reports-surge-in-irregular-crossings-via-belarus-since-april-2","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/183415\/","title":{"rendered":"Latvia reports surge in irregular crossings via Belarus since April 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 13, <\/strong>Pozirk.<\/strong> <\/em>Latvia did not allow 79 third-country foreigners to cross irregularly via Belarus yesterday, after thwarting 108 attempts on April 9, according to Pozirk’s<\/em> analysis of border guards’ data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both figures represent this year’s highs in irregular crossings into Latvia, with the attempts outnumbering those in the Lithuanian or Polish directions for 11 consecutive days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland has not recorded any migrant activity on its border with Belarus since March 26. Lithuania has been a target of sporadic but noticeable activity, with 36 attempts reported two days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 western neighbors thwarted at least 1,441 irregular crossings since the start of 2026, with attempts dropping fourfold compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia was the primary target with 894 attempts since January, followed by Lithuania with 389 and Poland with 158.<\/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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