Illegal Belarus-EU border crossings soar to 198 in 24 hours

October 17, Pozirk. The European Union (EU) has not allowed at least 198 migrants to enter illegally from Belarus over the past day.

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service did not record any illegal border crossings on October 16 but said that their Latvian colleagues thwarted 89 attempts.

The Polish Border Guard said that 109 foreigners, including nationals of India, Iran and Pakistan, tried to illegally cross the border from Belarus. Border guards said migrants threw stones and tree branches at them.

Since the start of 2023, the EU has record­ed at least 36,077 attempts by illegal migrants to enter its territory from Belarus, with 22,448 attempts via Poland, 11,572 via Latvia and 2,057 via Lithuania. Illegal migrants attempt­ed to cross the Belaru­sian-EU bor­der as many as 2,853 times in October.

Pozirk‘s analysis of daily stats indicated growing tension at the Belarusian-EU border, with Latvia turning into the prime target. Illegal border crossing attempts peaked at 5,054 in July.

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.

On August 28, interior ministers of Poland and the Baltic States agreed to close their borders with Belarus in case of a surge in illegal migration.