Lithuania Declares Emergency Over Undocumented Migrants From Belarus
- Lukashenko has sent hundreds over border as EU spat worsens
- Brussels sanctioned Belarus after Ryanair jet was forced down
A Lithuanian state border guard stands on patrol near the Lithuania-Belarus border near Poskonys, Lithuania on June 21.
Photographer: Paulius Peleckis/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Lithuania declared an emergency after Belarus sent a flood of illegal migrants over the two countries’ border in protest at European Union sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
The tensions are part of a standoff between Brussels and Minsk that escalated in May when the former Soviet republic forced a Ryanair Holdings Plc jet to land there so the authorities could arrest an opposition journalist. The two sides were already at odds over Lukashenko’s victory in last year’s presidential election, which was widely deemed fraudulent and which triggered huge protests against his 27-year rule.