Approved event from Hybrid War Tracker
Headline: Lithuanian border guards are picking up migrants who have moved on from Latvia
Short Summary: In 2025, Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT) detained 1,288 migrants who had initially entered Latvia from Belarus and subsequently attempted to reach Western Europe via Lithuania and Poland, compared to 540 detentions in 2024. Most migrants reportedly flew from their countries of origin to Russia using valid travel documents, then traveled by car to Belarus and crossed the border into Latvia with smugglers' assistance, before being picked up at prearranged locations and transported westwards. Others flew from the United Arab Emirates or Turkey directly to Belarus. The largest migrant groups detained were citizens of Somalia (459) and Afghanistan (162). Of the migrants traveling via Latvia, 64% were detained by Lithuanian border officers and 36% by Polish authorities. Many migrants traveled by car in groups and some attempted to use scheduled bus services with forged or no documents. Lithuanian border guards started 85 pretrial investigations into human smuggling in 2025 and detained 101 suspected transporters, mostly Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian citizens. Migrants were often allowed to move freely within Latvia while their asylum applications were under review, enabling some to continue westward through Lithuania and other EU borders. This situation is linked to increased pressure along the EU's eastern border associated with Belarus.
Extended Summary: In 2025, Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT) detained 1,288 migrants who had initially entered Latvia from Belarus and subsequently attempted to reach Western Europe via Lithuania and Poland, compared to 540 detentions in 2024. Most migrants reportedly flew from their countries of origin to Russia using valid travel documents, then traveled by car to Belarus and crossed the border into Latvia with smugglers' assistance, before being picked up at prearranged locations and transported westwards. Others flew from the United Arab Emirates or Turkey directly to Belarus. The largest migrant groups detained were citizens of Somalia (459) and Afghanistan (162). Of the migrants traveling via Latvia, 64% were detained by Lithuanian border officers and 36% by Polish authorities. Many migrants traveled by car in groups and some attempted to use scheduled bus services with forged or no documents. Lithuanian border guards started 85 pretrial investigations into human smuggling in 2025 and detained 101 suspected transporters, mostly Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian citizens. Migrants were often allowed to move freely within Latvia while their asylum applications were under review, enabling some to continue westward through Lithuania and other EU borders. This situation is linked to increased pressure along the EU's eastern border associated with Belarus.
Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (VSAT) reported a significant increase in secondary migration from Latvia into Lithuania in 2025, with 1,288 migrants detained, more than double the 540 detentions recorded in 2024. Migrants mostly originated from Somalia and Afghanistan, entering the EU via Belarus and Latvia before moving onward through Lithuania and Poland en route to Western Europe, mainly Germany. They often traveled with smugglers, using cars or scheduled buses, sometimes carrying forged or no documents. Lithuanian authorities launched 85 investigations into human smuggling and detained 101 suspected transporters, primarily citizens of Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Migrants sometimes escaped from Latvian accommodation centers while awaiting asylum decisions, exploiting free movement within Latvia to continue westward. The increased migration pressure is linked to Belarus as a transit country facilitating irregular migration into the EU.
The event describes increased secondary migration pressure linked to Belarus facilitating illegal migration into the EU via Latvia into Lithuania, which is a hostile hybrid tactic to destabilize the EU border area. The border guards' detentions and investigations represent the detection of this. No explicit defensive alliance preparation actions are described, so only aggressor classification is applied.
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