{"id":194866,"date":"2026-07-08T12:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/194866\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T12:48:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:48:36","slug":"irregular-belarus-eu-border-crossings-exceed-800-in-early-july","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/194866\/","title":{"rendered":"Irregular Belarus-EU border crossings exceed 800 in early July"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July 8, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>The neighboring European Union countries did not allow at least 809 undocumented third-country foreigners to cross irregularly via Belarus in the first week of July, according to Pozirk\u2019s<\/em> analysis of border guards\u2019 data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia was the primary target with 777 attempts, or 96 percent of the total. Lithuania reported 19 irregular crossings and Poland, 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of irregular border crossings rose by 58.6 percent compared with the first week of June, when 510 cases were reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 western neighbors have thwarted 8,695 irregular crossings since the start of 2026, including 7,562 into Latvia, 891 into Lithuania and 242 into Poland. The total is well below the figures recorded during the same period in 2025 and 2024, when authorities reported 22,451 and 23,518 attempts, respectively, in the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flow of people eager 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

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