Borders

In reaction to the fraudulent 2020 Belarusian presidential elections and violent suppression of oppositionists by the State apparatus, the European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus, including a travel ban and an asset freeze. After the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk, it also prohibited various aircraft operated by Belarusian airlines from taking off from, landing in, or flying over EU territory. Lithuania and Poland offered assistance to Belarusian refugees fleeing the regime, and continued to demand democratic changes in Belarus.  The reply from Belarus came almost exactly a year later. In June 2021, Lithuania began reporting a growing number of migrants from the Middle East trying to illegally cross the Belarusian and Lithuanian border. When it was suggested that the Belarusian regime was behind this unexpected migration wave, Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko stated in June 2021 that ‘(…) if someone thinks that we will (…) become a filtration camp for fugitives from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, they are mistaken at least. We will…