Belarus–Lithuania border
A border between Lithuania and Belarus, now a frontier between the EU and NATO and Russia’s ally. In 2021 Lithuania accused Minsk of letting migrants across it; in 2025 smugglers’ balloons from Belarus repeatedly shut Vilnius airport and Lithuania temporarily closed two crossings.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Belarus →Lithuania →
2021
After Belarus forced a passenger jet to land in Minsk in May 2021 and arrested a dissident journalist on board, the EU imposed sweeping sanctions, and President Alexander Lukashenko warned he would no longer try to stop migrants heading for the EU. By early July Lithuania had detected more than 800 illegal crossings that year, against 81 in all of 2020, and said it suspected Minsk of letting people through. The EU’s border agency Frontex sent guards.[1]
Balloons
From October 2025 meteorological balloons from Belarus, widely used to smuggle cigarettes, drifted into Lithuanian airspace so often that Vilnius airport was closed for more than 60 hours. Lithuania temporarily closed two border crossings, which Lukashenko denounced as part of a hybrid war against his country. On 9 December Lithuania declared an emergency, letting the army join border patrols; its interior minister said Minsk was believed to be involved in orchestrating the flights.[2]
“In combating the Belarusian hybrid attack, we must take the strictest measures and defend the areas most affected”[2]
Timeline
More borders
Lithuania
Sources
- [1]EU border guards sent to Lithuania amid Belarus migrant crisis · Al Jazeera · 2 July 2021
- [2]Lithuania declares state of emergency over smuggler balloons from Belarus · Al Jazeera (news agencies) · 9 December 2025
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.