Lithuania again sends border guards to help Latvia on Belarus border
As Latvia continues to face pressure from irregular migration via Belarus, Lithuania has sent its fourth group of border guards this year to assist. Both countries point to close security cooperation and a rising problem of so-called secondary migration.
Latvia continues to experience heightened pressure from irregular migration originating in Belarus, prompting Lithuania to again send help in guarding the border. On Wednesday, another group of Lithuanian State Border Guard Service officers — this time 20 people — departed for Latvia, the Lithuanian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.
Since July, Lithuania has sent a total of four groups of border guards to Latvia. Coordinating with their Latvian counterparts, the Lithuanian officers monitor the border, work to prevent irregular crossings, and carry out other tasks in defense of Latvia's state border, which is also the European Union's external border.
Minister thanks border guards
On Thursday, Lithuanian Interior Minister Vladimir Ivanovic... [correction see below]
Secondary migration on the rise
Lithuanian officials have also recorded a growing flow of irregular migrants entering Lithuania from Latvia this year, pointing to a worsening problem of so-called secondary migration. According to Interior Ministry data, 1,288 irregular migrants who had arrived from Latvia or traveled independently were detained in Lithuania last year — roughly two and a half times more than the 540 recorded in 2024. In the first half of this year alone, 1,546 migrants who had initially crossed the Belarus-Latvia border illegally have already been detained.
Countries in the region accuse Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately channeling migrants toward the EU's external border to pressure the bloc. In response, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have strengthened border security and continued building fencing along the frontier.
This year, close to 10,000 migrants have been prevented from illegally crossing Latvia's border, while Lithuanian border guards have this year forced 1,105 irregular migrants back toward Belarus.
