The Government of Lithuania has decided that, from August 18, two border crossings with Belarus—Šumškas and Tverečius—will be closed.
The Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior has proposed closing two more crossings: Lavoriškės and Raigardas.
On February 21, 2024, the Government of Lithuania decided that, starting in March, two additional crossings—Raigardas and Lavoriškės—would be closed.
On March 7, the Lithuanian Border Guard Service reported that, after the closures, queueing at the Belarus border has not been a significant problem. Belarus and Russia offer different accounts.
One Lithuanian carrier told our editors angrily that wait times at the Baltic states’ borders with Russia and Belarus have increased considerably.
Commenting on the truck backlog, the mayor of the Šalčininkai district noted: “On one hand, it’s in residents’ interests to keep the crossing open; on the other, if this situation continues, it’s better to close it. If conditions remain like this, what choice do we have?”
According to our sources, rumors began circulating among carriers that another crossing—Šalčininkai—might be slated for closure. We therefore contacted Lithuania’s Ministry of the Interior for comment.
Their response was: “We inform you that there are no plans to close another border crossing with Belarus. Currently, the Šalčininkai and Medininkai crossings remain in operation.”