EU stops 35 illegal migrants at Belarus border

January 21, BPN. The EU has not allowed 35 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

Lithuania and Latvia did not record illegal border crossings on January 20, but the Polish Border Guard said that 35 foreigners tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus. Border guards arrested a Ukrainian national for complicity in illegal migration.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded a total of 1,339 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory, with 923 attempts via Poland, 276 via Latvia and 140 via Lithuania.

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 in February 2022, but have risen more recently.