{"id":203902,"date":"2026-09-16T11:42:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/203902\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T11:42:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:42:48","slug":"irregular-belarus-eu-crossings-exceed-13000-since-january","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/203902\/","title":{"rendered":"Irregular Belarus-EU crossings exceed 13,000 since January"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 16, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>The neighboring European Union countries have not allowed at least 13,022 undocumented third-country foreigners to cross irregularly via Belarus since the start of 2026, according to Pozirk\u2019s<\/em> analysis of border guards\u2019 data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvia reported 11,024 attempts that accounted for nearly 85 percent of the total; Lithuania, 1,525 attempts (11.7 percent); Poland, 473 attempts (3.6 percent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first two weeks of this month, Belarus\u2019 western neighbors thwarted 851 irregular crossings, of which 589 targeted Latvia; 178, Lithuania; and 84, Poland. Latvia has been reporting daily attempts for 174 days in a row.<\/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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