Lithuania said on Monday (August 23) that it would complete a 508-kilometer (315-mile) fence along the border with Belarus by September 2022 to stop what it said was a fence by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko A record number of well-planned immigration.
Lithuania, Latvia and Poland reported a significant increase in migrants arriving in their territories from Belarus, and accused Lukashenko of using them to pressure the European Union to lift sanctions against his country.
“Physical barriers are essential for us to repel this mixed attack, and the Belarusian regime is carrying out this attack on Lithuania and the European Union,” said Prime Minister Ingrid Simonet.
The government stated that the state-owned EPSO-G, which operates Lithuania’s electricity and natural gas network, is overseeing the construction of the border fence, which is 3 meters (10 feet) high and covered with barbed wire at a cost of at least 152 million euros. .
Last week, EU countries accused Belarus of “direct attacks” by pushing asylum seekers across the border, and were disturbed by the prospect of a surge in immigration from Afghanistan, agreeing that they need to strengthen their external borders in the future.
According to government data, 4,141 people have illegally entered Lithuania so far this year. This is a small Baltic Republic with 2.8 million inhabitants, compared to 74 in 2020.
Since Lithuania pushed migrants from Belarus back to the former Soviet Republic on August 10, only 21 people have crossed the border. According to the Ministry of the Interior, nearly 2,000 people were denied entry during this period.
The European Union accused Belarus of transporting Iraqis to Minsk and then driving them to the northern border.
Lukashenko has said that due to sanctions imposed after last year’s controversial presidential election and subsequent suppression of protesters and dissidents, he will no longer stop immigration.
