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EU neighbors report no irregular crossings for two days
November 20, Pozirk. The European Union’s eastern neighbors have not recorded a single attempt by undocumented migrants to cross the border from Belarus for two consecutive days.
So far in 2025, only six days have passed without irregular border-crossing attempts — five in January and one in March.
Lithuania has reported no irregular crossings since November 1. Poland has likewise seen no incidents for three days in a row, from November 17 to 19. Latvian border guards have not detected undocumented migrants since November 17, when three incidents were recorded.
The sharp decline in attempts comes three days after Poland reopened two long-closed border crossings with Belarus. Lithuania also reopened the Medininkai–Kamienny Łoh and Šalčininkai–Bieniakoni checkpoints after keeping them shut for three weeks. Both Warsaw and Vilnius had warned Minsk that the borders would remain closed unless Belarus curbed irregular migration.
Since the start of November, EU neighbors have recorded 779 incidents in total: 505 in Latvia and 274 in Poland. This represents a 12.6 percent decrease compared with the same period last year.
Since the beginning of 2025, EU states have thwarted at least 41,939 irregular crossings from Belarus — an increase of 19.7 percent year on year and 15.6 percent more than the total for 2024. Most attempts, 28,709, targeted Poland. Latvia reported 11,685 attempts and Lithuania, 1,545.
The flow of people attempting to enter the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, signaled that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route into the bloc.
In June 2021, the Belarusian government suspended its readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions imposed after the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.
Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland describe the migration crisis as a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.
Belarus’ foreign ministry offers consultations to Vilnius
November 20, Pozirk. Minsk has proposed holding consultations between the Belarusian and Lithuanian foreign ministries to develop a mechanism that would ensure stable border-crossing operations and prevent future closures, Rusłan Varankoŭ, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign office, said on November …
