Lithuania’s interior ministry suggests extending state of emergency at Belarus border

November 16, BPN. Lithuania has good reasons for extending the state of emergency at its shared borders with Belarus and Russia, Delfi reported, citing interior minister Agnė Bilotaitė.

The current state of emergency along the entire Lithuanian-Belarusian border as well as Lithuania’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region expires on December 16. It remains unclear for how long it may be extended, she said.

Lithuania stepped up strategic sites’ protection after the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Bilotaitė noted, adding that the situation at the borders remains calm and the number of illegal migration cases has stabilized.                                         

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated on November 8, 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 on February 24, but have risen more recently.