“Currently, we are actively deploying forces in those sections of the border where the most violations take place – in this case, we are talking about the reserve of the State Border Guard Service. (…)
“Today and last week, there were active discussions with the EU border guard agency Frontex about the possibilities of deploying EU border guards at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border,” Lubayev said.
“Our initial plan is to deploy around 30 EU border guards. (..) According to current information, our proposal is broadly supported. We are now starting to harmonize the technical aspects, the logistics side. It is planned that European border guards could be deployed there from 1 or 14 .in July.”
Lithuanian border guards expect to receive two types of support from the Armed Forces – assistance in patrolling and, if necessary, setting up migrant camps.
“In the face of a large influx of illegal immigrants, we would consider using the logistics elements of the Armed Forces to set up centers to detain and deal with migrants,” the head of the State Border Guard Service explained.
For the time being, the infrastructure of the Lithuanian Aliens Registration Center is still able to cope with the influx of illegal immigrants, but the border guard has already chosen a place where such a camp could be set up. Migrants could also be accommodated in a border guard school; It is possible that local governments would also be asked for help, and border guards also hope for the support of non-governmental organizations in providing migrants with the most necessary things.
The Border Guard is already being assisted by the Public Security Service, and it is planned to ask for help from the Riflemen’s Union. According to Lubayev, this would triple the forces involved in guarding the Belarusian border.
On Friday, it was announced that last day Lithuanian border guards detained several groups of illegal immigrants, a total of 52 foreigners, at the Belarusian border – according to preliminary data, mostly Iraqi and Syrian, but also Belarusian and Russian citizens. Most of them have applied for asylum in Lithuania.
According to Lubayev, illegal immigration has been on the rise since October and November last year, and about 250 illegal immigrants have been detained since the beginning of this year alone.
The head of the Border Guard Service has acknowledged that these are record numbers for the last five years. The number of migrants apprehended last day is also approaching a record, even though the size of the groups of border offenders apprehended in the 1990s has been hundreds.
Among other things, Lubayev pointed out that there has been more activity of border guards on the Belarusian side recently, but “there have been no hostile activities yet”.
“We see more often the officials of the Belarusian Border Guard Committee at our state border. We have the opportunity to monitor the border with the help of modern surveillance systems. We see what is happening at the state border in places where this system is installed. We also see vehicles. “he said, adding that this information was also provided to the responsible authorities.
“We think it could be related to the training” Zapad 2021 “planned for this year. (..) I assume that the situation is also being observed from Belarus at the moment. They also obviously want to know more about what we are doing,” the border guards said. The head of the service added that Belarusian border guards were “reluctant to cooperate”.
Lithuania also plans to strengthen controls at the Polish border. Given that systemic controls at the EU’s internal borders are not possible, it intends to use the criminal intelligence methods currently agreed with Polish border guards.
According to Lubayev, it is intended for additional technical equipment, including surveillance equipment. Additional technical means are already being used at the Belarusian border, where it is also planned to involve mobile equipment.
As tensions around Belarus escalate, the country’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko recently said that Belarus had so far slowed the flow of drugs and migrants across the Lithuanian border, but that Lithuanians would have to “catch migrants themselves”.
Lithuanian Minister of the Interior Agne Bilotaite at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Committee of the Seimas this week expressed the assumption that the increase in the flow of illegal migrants from Belarus could be related to the deliberate actions of officials of the neighboring country.
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