Latvia has closed its border with Belarus for “technical reasons,” Interior Minister Janis Dombrava announced late on 31 July 2026, LSM reports. A day earlier, Dombrava urged Latvian residents not to travel across the border to or from Belarus. Kristine Petersone, spokesperson for Latvia’s State Border Guard (VRS), said that the border was closed due…
Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) has found several tunnels used to smuggle irregular migrants from Belarus into Lithuania, LRT reports. Speaking in an interview with 15min, VSAT commander Rustamas Liubajevas said that migrants were increasingly using tunnels and caves to cross the border. VSAT discovered the first tunnels in 2025. Digging such tunnels would…
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has proposed expanding national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens, BNS reports. Under the proposed draft legislation, Russian and Belarusian individuals and organisations would be barred from public cultural or sports events in Lithuania if they have operated in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, directly or indirectly support the war against Ukraine, or…
Around 5,000 third‑country nationals come to Estonia every year for seasonal work, mostly on farms, according to the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), ERR reports. Most seasonal workers come from Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, India, and Georgia. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many seasonal workers came from Belarus as well, but Estonia has since…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments banning the import of certain industrial goods from Russia and Belarus, LETA reports. The amendments ban the import of books, newspapers, video games, sporting goods, toys, clothing, and footwear either directly or indirectly from Russia and Belarus. Transit shipments of such goods to other countries will not…
Lithuania may impose temporary border controls with Latvia due to a surge in the number of irregular migrants arriving from Belarus via Latvia, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas warned, LRT reported. He insisted that Lithuania cannot become a “transit country that anyone can pass through” and urged Latvia to take more responsibility for the problem, LRT and BNS…
Latvia and Lithuania and six other EU member states have joined Estonia’s call to ban EU funding for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ERR reported. Earlier, the IOC executive committee provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, allowing Russian athletes to return to international competitions under the Russian flag. Under the Estonian proposal,…
Lithuania’s new government is not expected to make any major changes in foreign policy, LRT reports. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius named regional security, Baltic cooperation, and strengthening ties with the US as his priorities, BNS and The Baltic Times reported. The government calls for a more united Europe, while maintaining strategic partnerships with Germany, Poland,…
Russia may be planning provocations against the Baltic States or Poland to test NATO unity, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics warned, BNS and LETA reported. Nauseda said that intelligence indicated that Russia could be preparing “targeted kinetic operations” against critical infrastructure in the region. Rinkevics said that the intelligence reports pointed…
