{"id":181528,"date":"2026-03-30T11:20:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T08:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181528\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T12:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T09:16:29","slug":"latvia-becomes-main-target-for-irregular-crossings-via-belarus","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181528\/","title":{"rendered":"Latvia main target for irregular crossings via Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 30, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Latvia has not allowed at least 215 third-country foreigners to cross irregularly via Belarus since the start of March, with 79 attempts recorded over the past three days alone, according to Pozirk\u2019s<\/em> analysis of border guards\u2019 data. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of attempts nearly doubled year on year and surged from last month, when only 20 irregular crossings were recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Latvia has been the primary destination for undocumented migrants arriving via Belarus. Lithuania has thwarted 122 attempts since the start of 2026, and Poland, 159.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flow of people desperate to cross into the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2021, the Belarusian government suspended a readmission agreement with the EU in response to sanctions that followed the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland call the migration crisis a \u201chybrid attack\u201d orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prime ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland signed a joint declaration on February 26 on strengthening cooperation to beef up border security and respond to hybrid threats. The governments committed \u201cto resist the instrumentalization of migration and other hybrid threats at the external borders of the European Union, including land, sea, and airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n \"\"