Lines of trucks form in Lithuania at the border with Belarus and the Kaliningrad region / Article

On Wednesday it became known that the European Commission has allowed the transit of Russian goods to the Kaliningrad region, but this simplified procedure applies only to rail transport, not to road transport.

The Kybarti border control point of Lithuania leads to the Kaliningrad region, goods are checked there more, taking into account the ban on the transit of certain goods from Russia to the Kaliningrad region in reference to European Union sanctions.

“We select cars for customs inspection more carefully, because we take into account the list of sanctioned goods. We check whether there are no sanctioned goods among those transported from the Kaliningrad region to Russia and vice versa. That’s why the customs check is longer,” says Vadims Dikčius, officer of the Kibart border control point.

Lithuanian officials say that queues are also forming at Russian checkpoints on the side of Kaliningrad region.

“Those cars could go to the Russian side, but the Russian checkpoint is full of cars. Our colleagues should try to reduce the queue”, says Darjus Mekšraitis, head of the Kibartu border control point.

There is also a kilometer-long queue at the Raigarda border control point to Belarus. Around 340 trucks are parked here. After the introduction of the previous package of international sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the queues had disappeared for a few weeks, but have now returned.

“After the introduction of the new sanctions package, the queues disappeared for a couple of weeks. However, carriers have reorganized and flows are increasing. We have a 12-kilometer long queue at the Raigarda border control point, which leads to Belarus,” informs the head of the Druskininku border control point Andrjus Beloruchkins.

Queues are also forming due to sanctions and more thorough checks at the border. Queues on the Belarusian border are also growing for another reason, Lithuanian officials explain.

Namely, drivers go here to avoid even longer queues on the Polish-Belarusian border. Some of them are even more than 20 kilometers long.

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