The commander of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), Rustamas Liubajevas, has resigned, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas announced, LRT reports. Katelynas said that serious questions had arisen about how VSAT had handled and reported a recent violent incident involving migrants on the border with Belarus. Media reports revealed that a group of migrants had attacked…
Lithuania’s Culture Minister, Lukas Alsys, called for a systematic shift away from the use of Russian language in public administration, BNS reported. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Alsys stressed that government institutions and municipalities in Lithuania communicated in the state language, Lithuanian. However, the policy of phasing out Russian should take into account…
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs criticised Interior Minister Janis Dombrava for a letter that the minister had sent to Spain over the recent border crisis in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, LETA reported. According to LTV, Spanish officials were irritated with Dombrava’s letter, which they found patronising and arrogant, LSM reported. Spanish officials expressed disappointment…
A group of migrants attacked Lithuanian border guards after entering the country through a tunnel on the border with Belarus, LRT reported. The incident occurred on 26 July 2026 at the Kapciamiestis border checkpoint. Border guards detained the first people who came through the tunnel but were then attacked by about 20 more migrants, forcing…
Latvia has reopened the border crossing in Patarnieki on the border with Belarus, the State Border Guard (VRS) announced, LETA reports. Earlier, the government decided not to approve the Interior Ministry’s proposal to close down the checkpoint, which is the only road border crossing that remains open on Latvia’s border with Belarus. However, Prime Minister…
Latvia will not close its border with Belarus for now, the Latvian government announced, LSM reports. The border checkpoint in Patarnieki, Latvia’s only remaining land border crossing with Belarus, was closed for “technical reasons” on 31 July 2026. As a result, hundreds of trucks are stuck at the border crossing, LSM reports. The Ministry of…
The Latvian government has asked the State Chancellery to conduct a comprehensive analysis of state funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), LETA reports. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs alleged that NGOs were wasting taxpayer money, LSM reported. He suggested that state funding for NGOs created a conflict of interest, insisting that NGOs should not depend on state…
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal stressed the importance of preserving the EU’s Schengen Area, insisting that creating new internal borders within the free movement area was “in no way in the interests of Estonia or Estonians,” ERR reported. He was responding to reactions to the recent sudden influx of irregular migrants from Morocco to Spain’s North…
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…
