Trucks waiting 24-36 hours after closure of Lithuania checkpoints

March 7, Pozirk. Traveler traffic rose by 10 percent at the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border crossings that remain open between Lithuania and Belarus after Vilnius closed down two checkpoints on March 1, Sigitas Volainis, a Lithuanian border official, told Delfi.
The number of vehicles at the border soared by up to 40 percent with waiting time for trucks ranging from 24 to 36 hours and 4 to 5 hours for cars, he added.
Belarusians prefer to travel through Medininkai (Kamienny Łoh on the Belarusian side) to visit their family members or cemeteries, while some have property in Lithuania, Volainis said.
A small share of visitors from Belarus declare that they travel to Lithuania for shopping, he added.
The Lithuanian side’s capacity allows for processing more vehicles but the Belarusian side has not adapted to the new conditions yet, he noted.
About 2,600 trucks were waiting in queues to enter the European Union as of 8 am on March 7, according to the Belarusian State Border Committee. Of these, 900 Lithuania-bound trucks were expecting border processing at Kamienny Łoh and 895, at Bieniakoni. The checkpoints’ capacity does not reportedly exceed 500 and 250 trucks per day, respectively.
Vilnius closed Lavoriškės (Katłoŭka) and Raigardas (Pryvałka) on March 1, citing national security, smuggling and international sanctions compliance as the reasons.
- Politics, SecurityRussia urges Warsaw to cancel Belarus border closureThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyFoundation raises €50,000 for prisoners released todayThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityPoland to deploy 40,000 troops to borderThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsEight people declared political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Economy, PoliticsUS Treasury Department permits certain transactions with BiełavijaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus slams Poland and Latvia for restricting air trafficThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsList of prisoners released todayThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja urges release of all political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka accuses Poland of overreacting like savages to drone incursionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Society
- Politics
- Politics
- PoliticsŁukašenka accepts credentials from Slovak ambassador, seven othersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Politics, SecurityLithuania's top diplomat sees no reason for easing sanctions against MinskThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityPolish diplomat links border closure to Polish monk's arrest in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsOpposition leader blames Minsk for allowing drone incursion into PolandThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLatvia joins Poland in restricting flights over eastern borders ahead of Zapad-2025The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsMinsk officials rush to clear traffic ahead of Polish border closureThe material is available only to POZIRK+