Lithuania to Shut Down 2 More Border Crossings with Belarus

The Lithuanian-Belarusian border may be seeing further restrictions as Lithuania’s National Security Commission proposes closing two more checkpoints in an effort to limit travel between the two neighboring countries. The commission, which includes the prime minister, several cabinet members, and representatives from the president’s office and intelligence services, has recommended the closure of Laboriskes and Raigardas checkpoints. These were the only remaining checkpoints after Lithuania closed two others last year.

The proposal also includes restrictions on picking up and dropping off passengers at the Kena railway border checkpoints, as well as prohibiting pedestrians and cyclists from crossing the border between the two countries. The goal is to optimize the management of border flows and conduct more detailed screening of persons, vehicles, and goods.

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Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), stated that the flow of Belarusian citizens has increased by around 50 per cent via all road border checkpoints along the border with Belarus. This increase in traffic requires the optimization of managing the flows and more detailed screening of persons, vehicles, and goods.

The government will make the final decision on closing the checkpoints and reducing the number of vehicles and passengers transiting through Lithuania, with the aim of mitigating Belarusian and Russian intelligence activities against Lithuania. The move also aims to prevent sanctioned goods from entering Belarus and Russia and to combat smuggling at the external borders.

In 2023, 3.9 million border crossings were recorded at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border through road checkpoints, representing a 25.5 per cent increase from the previous year. Two-thirds of the total border crossings were made by Belarusian citizens. On the other hand, Lithuanian citizens crossed the border 684,000 times, a decrease of 13.4 per cent from the previous year.

Lithuania shut down two out of its six border checkpoints with Belarus in August, namely Šumskas and Tverečius, and the interior minister announced that the ministry would suggest closing two additional checkpoints. The proposed solutions aim to enhance traffic safety and address the inadequate infrastructure of the road leading to the Lavoriškės checkpoint, which currently lacks a designated waiting area for vehicles.