Illegal Belarus-EU border crossings soar to 278 in 24 hours

July 31, BPN. The European Union (EU) has not allowed at least 278 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day following 138 illegal crossing attempts on July 29. 

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service recorded 22 illegal attempts to cross the border on July 30 while their Latvian colleagues thwarted 28 attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said that 228 foreigners, including nationals of Egypt, India, Iran and Somalia tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has recorded at least 24,012 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 17,348 attempts via Poland, 5,196 via Latvia and 1,468 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempted to cross the Belarusian-EU border 4,792 times since the start of July.

BPN’s analysis of daily stats indicated growing tension at the Belarusian-EU border, with Poland being the prime target. Illegal border crossing attempts rose from 1,989 in January and 1,970 in February to 4,719 in May and 3,701 in June.

The migration crisis at the Belarusian-EU border dates back to the spring of 2021. It escalated in November 2021, with thousands of migrants setting 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.