{"id":181847,"date":"2026-04-01T13:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181847\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T13:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:33:12","slug":"irregular-belarus-eu-crossings-spike-in-march","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/181847\/","title":{"rendered":"Irregular Belarus-EU crossings spike in March"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 1, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The neighboring European Union countries did not allow at least 538 third-country foreigners to cross irregularly via Belarus, with the number of attempts soaring fourfold compared to the first two months of 2026, according to Pozirk<\/em>\u2019s analysis of border guards\u2019 data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, irregular crossings fell significantly from March 2025, when 2,951 attempts were reported. Latvia was the primary target last month with 295 attempts, followed by Lithuania with 149 and Poland with 94.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 western neighbors have thwarted at least 663 irregular crossings since year\u2019s start, posting a significant decrease in attempts compared to the same period in 2025.  In the first quarter of 2026, Latvia recorded a 3-percent decrease in irregular crossings year on year. Irregular crossings into Poland plunged from 3,540 in the first quarter of 2025 to 159 in January-March 2026.<\/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 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 EU, including land, sea, and airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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