Lithuania to temporarily close two checkpoints with Belarus amid tensions on border
1 year, 4 months ago

Lithuania to temporarily close two checkpoints with Belarus amid tensions on border

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Lithuania on Wednesday decided to temporarily close two of its six checkpoints with Belarus later this week amid growing tensions with its eastern neighbor, an ally of Russia. Rustamas Liubajevas, commander of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service, said that there could be up to 4,500 of Wagner fighters in Belarus, with some of them stationed close to the Lithuanian and Polish borders. In neighboring Latvia, the State Border Guard Service said Tuesday it was mobilizing additional border guards to strengthen the protection of the external state border, the LETA news agency said. A total of 11,211 people have been denied entry to Lithuania from Belarus since January 2022, according to the State Border Service.

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History of this topic

Poland reintroduces restrictions on accessing areas along Belarus border due to migration pressure
6 months, 1 week ago

Poland reintroduces restrictions on accessing areas along Belarus border due to migration pressure

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — Poland on Thursday reintroduced restrictions on movement along parts of the border with Belarus because of increased migration pressure that has involved violence against Polish security officials. The ban taking effect Thursday will be valid for 90 days and affects 60 kilometers of the land border between NATO member Poland and Belarus, an autocratic state aligned with …

Poland reintroduces restrictions on accessing areas along Belarus border due to migration pressure
6 months, 1 week ago

Poland reintroduces restrictions on accessing areas along Belarus border due to migration pressure

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Lithuania to close 2 more checkpoints with Russian ally Belarus as tensions along the border rise
10 months ago

Lithuania to close 2 more checkpoints with Russian ally Belarus as tensions along the border rise

Associated Press  

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuania decided Wednesday to seal off another two of its six checkpoints with Belarus as of next month, amid growing tensions with its eastern neighbor, an ally of Russia. Wednesday’s decision was fueled “by the risks associated with the increased activities of the Belarusian intelligence and security services against Lithuania and our citizens,” Lithuania’s Interior Minister Agnė …

Lithuania to close 2 more checkpoints with Russian ally Belarus as tensions along border rise
10 months ago

Lithuania to close 2 more checkpoints with Russian ally Belarus as tensions along border rise

LA Times  

Lithuanian soldiers patrol a road near the Lithuania-Belarus border near the village of Jaskonys, about 100 miles south of the capital, Vilnius, on Nov. 13, 2021. Lithuania decided Wednesday to seal off another two of its six checkpoints with Belarus as of next month, amid growing tensions with its eastern neighbor, an ally of Russia. Wednesday’s decision was fueled “by …

Lithuania closes two border crossings with Belarus amid growing tensions
1 year, 4 months ago

Lithuania closes two border crossings with Belarus amid growing tensions

Al Jazeera  

Lithuania temporarily shuts two of six checkpoints located on shared 680km border with Belarus over security concerns. Lithuanian will temporarily close two of the country’s six border crossings with Belarus due to what the government said were “geopolitical circumstances”, and as concerns grow in the region over the presence of thousands of Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries within Belarusian territory. Belarus, …

Latvia sends soldiers to boost security on border with Belarus
1 year, 4 months ago

Latvia sends soldiers to boost security on border with Belarus

Al Jazeera  

Latvia says country is facing increased ‘hybrid threats’ and blames Belarusian authorities of involvement in encouraging people to cross border. Latvia’s defence minister has ordered the army to help guard the country’s border with Belarus amid what was described as “hybrid threats” facing the country and as a reported 96 attempts were made by people to cross the border in …

Polish minister says reinforcement at the border with Belarus is due to hostile rhetoric and actions
1 year, 4 months ago

Polish minister says reinforcement at the border with Belarus is due to hostile rhetoric and actions

Associated Press  

JARYLOWKA, Poland — Poland’s defense minister said Saturday that the country has increased the number of troops protecting its border with Belarus as a deterrent amid “destabilizing” actions by its pro-Russian neighbor. Also a pro-government group in Belarus recently alleged that Poland’s politicians, who support Ukraine in its war against Russia’s aggression, were “igniting the fire of war with their …

Lithuania declares more than 1,000 Belarusians and Russians to be national security risks
1 year, 4 months ago

Lithuania declares more than 1,000 Belarusians and Russians to be national security risks

Associated Press  

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuania declared more than a thousand citizens of Russia and Belarus living in the country to be threats to national security on Friday and said it was stripping them of their permanent residency permits. The Migration Department said Friday that it had established that 1,164 Belarusian and Russian citizens residing in Lithuania posed a threat to national …

Poland and Lithuania say they fear provocations from Russia and Belarus at NATO's eastern flank
1 year, 4 months ago

Poland and Lithuania say they fear provocations from Russia and Belarus at NATO's eastern flank

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Both nations on NATO's eastern …

Poland and Lithuania say they fear provocations from Russia and Belarus at NATO’s eastern flank
1 year, 4 months ago

Poland and Lithuania say they fear provocations from Russia and Belarus at NATO’s eastern flank

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — Polish and Lithuanian leaders held an urgent meeting Thursday in a strategically sensitive area where their NATO nations border Belarus and the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, warning that they are bracing for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in the area. Both nations on NATO’s eastern flank have increased their border security following the arrival of thousands of …

Russia-Belarus border checks return, linked to Ukraine war draft
1 year, 7 months ago

Russia-Belarus border checks return, linked to Ukraine war draft

Al Jazeera  

Partial border controls between Russia and Belarus return for first time in decades. Belarus has partially restored controls on its border with Russia, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik said, the first time in almost 30 years that there have been checks at the 1,239km frontier between the two staunch allies. However, human rights activists believe the return of border checks …

People crossing into Latvia allege torture by security services
1 year, 8 months ago

People crossing into Latvia allege torture by security services

Al Jazeera  

A Syrian refugee who fled from Belarus says border guards put out cigarettes on his war wounds. He was then taken to another tent, one which Kiwan claims was overseen by six masked members of Latvia’s security forces, whom he could not definitively identify as either Latvian State Border Guard members or regular police officers. “They told me that if …

Poland to end state of emergency along border with Belarus
2 years, 6 months ago

Poland to end state of emergency along border with Belarus

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s government announced Thursday that it will lift a state of emergency on July 1 along its border with Belarus as it completes the construction of a wall aimed at stopping migrants and refugees. Poland began building the wall and restricted the rights of most people to enter the border area after large number of migrants, most …

Poland-Belarus border: The people pushed back in a Polish forest
2 years, 6 months ago

Poland-Belarus border: The people pushed back in a Polish forest

Al Jazeera  

Listen to this story: Białystok, Poland – Mahir* and Hasan* wove their way through a forest in eastern Poland. The pair were able to cross into Poland and avoid Polish border guards, who have been accused of “pushbacks” of non-European refugees and migrants entering their country via the “red zone” – a 3km-wide strip running along the roughly 400km border …

Latvia, Lithuania, Poland rapped over Belarus border methods
2 years, 11 months ago

Latvia, Lithuania, Poland rapped over Belarus border methods

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — Latvia, Lithuania and Poland continue to use questionable methods to keep out migrants trying to enter from Belarus and are denying access to aid groups trying to help people stuck in border areas, senior U.N. refugee agency and European Union officials said Thursday. She did say that border tensions have “de-escalated significantly,” and that the EU has helped …

Poland says Belarus still bringing migrants to its border
3 years, 1 month ago

Poland says Belarus still bringing migrants to its border

Al Jazeera  

Polish border guard said Belarusian servicemen brought about 100 migrants and refugees to its frontier on Saturday night. Poland has accused Belarus of continuing to ferry migrants to its border despite clearing camps close to the frontier earlier this week, as the country’s prime minister started a tour of Baltic states to seek support in the crisis. The border guard …

The victims of the Belarus border crisis were obvious. For Poland’s government, it was a useful distraction
3 years, 1 month ago

The victims of the Belarus border crisis were obvious. For Poland’s government, it was a useful distraction

CNN  

CNN — It was clear who the losers were in the dispute between Poland and Belarus. But Dempsey added: “With this whole crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border, Law and Justice now is seen as a champion of protecting Polish sovereignty and, of course, protecting Europe.” State of emergency The decision by Poland’s government – which also opposed taking in refugees …

Tensions continue to rise at the Poland-Belarus border as leaders clash
3 years, 1 month ago

Tensions continue to rise at the Poland-Belarus border as leaders clash

ABC  

The European Union and Belarus are locked in a stand-off over migrants that has come against a backdrop of tensions between the West and Minsk's backer Moscow. Key points: Since the summer, thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, have flocked to Belarus to try to enter Europe through neighbouring EU member states Poland, Latvia or Lithuania Around 4,000 …

Poland-Belarus border: ‘People are dying in the forest’
3 years, 1 month ago

Poland-Belarus border: ‘People are dying in the forest’

Al Jazeera  

Hajnówka, Poland – When Yousef*, a 48-year-old teacher from Damascus, Syria, heard through word of mouth that it was now possible to safely cross into the European Union via the Belarus-Poland border, he saw an opportunity. The European Commission has described Lukashenko’s strategy of luring migrants and refugees to the border with false promises of safe passage to the EU …

Russia deploys paratroopers to Belarus border region amid fears of conflict
3 years, 1 month ago

Russia deploys paratroopers to Belarus border region amid fears of conflict

Daily Mail  

America has warned Vladimir Putin will be making a 'serious mistake' if he invades Ukraine after the Russian president provoked the West by deploying troops in Belarus and sending bombers over the North Sea. Elsewhere today: The EU said it is alarmed by Russian military activities close to Ukraine, is watching the situation closely and 'looking at further steps' along …

Live updates: Belarus-Poland border crisis traps thousands in ‘catastrophic’ conditions
3 years, 1 month ago

Live updates: Belarus-Poland border crisis traps thousands in ‘catastrophic’ conditions

CNN  

Migrants sit by a fire near the Poland-Belarus border on Wednesday, November 10. Here’s what else you need to know: Migrants are trapped in terrible conditions: The situation at the border remains fluid, with at least 800 people currently camped out in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian side of the closed Kuznica border crossing, Polish authorities told CNN on …

EU values, laws under threat amid standoff at Belarus border
3 years, 1 month ago

EU values, laws under threat amid standoff at Belarus border

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — Fears that the authoritarian leader of Belarus is using migrants and refugees as a “hybrid warfare” tactic to undermine the security of the European Union are putting new strains on some of the values and laws in the 27-nation bloc. Belarus is weaponizing migrants’ distress in a cynical and shocking way,” European Council President Charles Michel said at …

EXPLAINER: What’s behind the crisis at Belarus-Poland border
3 years, 1 month ago

EXPLAINER: What’s behind the crisis at Belarus-Poland border

Associated Press  

Thousands of migrants and refugees have flocked to Belarus’ border with Poland, hoping to get to Western Europe, Many of them are now stranded at the frontier, setting up makeshift camps as Polish security forces watch them from behind a razor-wire fence and try to prevent them from entering the country. “Such brutal tactics would make Belarus toxic and delay …

EU accuses Belarus of ‘trafficking’ migrants toward border
3 years, 1 month ago

EU accuses Belarus of ‘trafficking’ migrants toward border

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — European Union officials on Wednesday accused Belarus of state- As the crisis showed no sign of easing, an EU leader also said the bloc was, for the first time, considering the idea of funding the construction of a wall or some other barrier on its eastern border. Germany’s interior minister, Horst Seehofer, also accused Lukashenko of “using …

Poland blocks mass migrant crossing, warns of clashes as Belarus crisis escalates
3 years, 1 month ago

Poland blocks mass migrant crossing, warns of clashes as Belarus crisis escalates

ABC  

Polish authorities say they have stopped hundreds of asylum seekers from illegally entering the country from Belarus. Key points: The EU has accused Belarus of orchestrating the crisis as revenge for Western sanctions Polish authorities say there are 3,000 to 4,000 asylum seekers near their border with Belarus Charities say the asylum seekers face freezing conditions and a lack of …

Migrants aided by Belarus try to storm border into Poland
3 years, 1 month ago

Migrants aided by Belarus try to storm border into Poland

Associated Press  

WARSAW, Poland — Hundreds if not thousands of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor wire fences and using branches to try and climb over them. Anton Bychkovsky, spokesman for Belarus’ State Border Guard Committee, told The Associated Press that the migrants at the border are seeking to “exercise their right to apply …

Poland blocks hundreds of migrants, refugees at Belarus border
3 years, 1 month ago

Poland blocks hundreds of migrants, refugees at Belarus border

Al Jazeera  

Warsaw accuses Minsk of trying to trigger a major confrontation along the frontier as months-long border crisis escalates. Lithuania, meanwhile, said it was moving additional troops to its border with Belarus to prepare for a possible surge in attempted crossings from the latter, while Latvia described the situation as “alarming”. “It represents the two border issues with which the EU …

Iraqi migrant dies near Belarus border, death toll up to 5
3 years, 3 months ago

Iraqi migrant dies near Belarus border, death toll up to 5

The Hindu  

An Iraqi migrant died near Poland’s border with Belarus and another was hospitalised with COVID-19, Polish border guards said on Friday. The death raises to five, the number of fatalities among migrants who try to cross into European Union member states Poland and Lithuania from Belarus through an area of thick woods and bogs. Border guards posted on their twitter …

Poland sending 500 more troops to insulate Belarus border
3 years, 3 months ago

Poland sending 500 more troops to insulate Belarus border

The Hindu  

Polish government officials said on Monday that they are sending 500 additional army troops and special vehicles to the border with Belarus to strengthen it against increasing migrant pressure that they say is orchestrated by Belarus and Russia to destabilise the European Union. “We will defend Poland's border with full determination,” he said after a meeting with the interior minister …

Lithuania to turn migrants crossing in from Belarus away
3 years, 4 months ago

Lithuania to turn migrants crossing in from Belarus away

Associated Press  

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuania has ordered its border guards to turn away, by force if needed, migrants attempting to enter the Baltic country, as a surge of Iraqis and others coming in from neighboring Belarus has emerged as a major foreign policy issue. The Interior Ministry distributed a video shot from a helicopter as a proof that large groups of …

Lithuania to turn away migrants crossing in from Belarus
3 years, 4 months ago

Lithuania to turn away migrants crossing in from Belarus

LA Times  

A member of the Lithuania State Border Guard Service looks through binoculars as he patrols the border with Belarus. Lithuania has ordered its border guards to turn away, with force if needed, migrants attempting to enter the country as the rapidly growing number of immigrants illegally crossing from neighboring Belarus has become a major foreign policy issue for the small …

Belarus president closes western borders, puts army on high alert
4 years, 3 months ago

Belarus president closes western borders, puts army on high alert

Al Jazeera  

Lukashenko has closed borders with Poland and Lithuania, underlining repeated claims protests are driven by the West. Belarus’s president, beleaguered by six weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation, has announced he is putting troops on high alert and closing the country’s borders with Poland and Lithuania. “We are forced to withdraw troops from the streets, put the army on …

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