Belarus–Lithuania border

The historical borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later, following the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, governorates of the Russian Empire varied significantly throughout the history and at times bore little resemblance to the modern borders. The formation of the current border began after the World War I, following the establishment of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian–Soviet War. The Soviet-Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed on 12 July 1920, defining and recognizing the eastern border of Lithuania, even though it was de facto controlled by Poland due to the Polish–Lithuanian War and Polish–Soviet War. It was similar to the present border, but the Vilnius region was de facto controlled by Second Polish Republic. Following the World War II and the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, a new border was established between the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. It is the basis of the current border which had remained largely stable since 1940. The border is defined by the treaty of 6 February 1995 between the two countries. The demarcation of the border was completed in 2007. == Definition of the border ==

The treaty defines the border as starting at the border tripoint of Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus (the Soviet-built 'Friendship Kurgan' monument, ). It goes southeast across Lake Drūkšiai, following river Apyvardė, across lakes Apvardai and Prūtas, further following Dysna River to the east, and further to Adutiškis railway station. It further goes north of Belarusian settlement Lyntupy, east of the Lithuanian settlement Šumskas, across the road Vilnius – Maladzyechna, goes around the area of Lithuanian settlement Dieveniškės from the east, south and west, goes to the North of Belarusian settlement Bieniakoni, crosses the road Vilnius-Lida and further follows Šalčia river. It further continues to the south of Lithuanian city Eišiškės, follows Načia river, goes to the south of Lithuanian settlement Dubičiai, reaches the source of Kotra River and further follows this river, then across lakes Grūda ir Dubas. It further crosses the railroad Vilnius-Grodno next to the stop Senovė, and the railroad to Druskininkai to the north of the stop Pariečė, continuing west towards Neman river and up against the current, and further following Mara river to the border tripoint of Belarus, Lithuania and Poland (). On 18 January 2023, Lithuanian government renounced the agreement signed with Belarus on the principles of cross-border cooperation. The bill terminated the agreement signed by the governments of Lithuania and Belarus in Vilnius on 1 June 2006, to set out areas of cross-border cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. == Incidents ==

official shows the barrier with the Concertina wire In June 2021, Lithuanian officials claimed that Belarusian authorities could encourage illegal migration from Iraq and Syria to Lithuania by organizing groups of refugees and helping them to cross the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. It was assumed that the state support of illegal migration could be carried out for political reasons. == Border barrier ==

near Ašašninkai village, Lithuania Lithuania decided to build a border barrier to stem the flow of illegal crossings. On 5 August 2021, the chief of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service presented a project of the proposed barrier for the entire Belarus-Lithuania border which would be high and would use multiple layers of the Concertina wire. The cost of the project was estimated at €150 million and the Lithuanian parliament approved it as a matter of urgency. Lithuania completed the barrier in August 2022 and the modern surveillance equipment was installed by the end of the year. In March 2023, the Lithuanian authorities announced that 100% of the border is surveilled. == Border crossings ==

This table lists the road border crossings between Belarus and Lithuania (from north to south): , only two border crossing are open. Two border crossings, Šumskas and Tverečius, were closed by Lithuania on 18 August 2023 due to concerns over Wagner Group mercenaries and smuggling. In January 2024, Lithuania decided to impose movement restrictions and close two more border crossings, Lavoriškės and Raigardas, effective 1 March 2024. It was also decided to suspend pedestrian and cyclist crossings through the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border checkpoints, and to prohibit passenger boarding and disembarkation at the Kena railway border checkpoint and the Kybartai railway border checkpoint. The Lithuanian government cited national security concerns, smuggling and violations of international sanctions as the reasons behind the decision. In response, Belarus banned Lithuanian trucks from leaving the country. The vehicles were directed to special parking lots, and the drivers were released to go home. On 10 March 2026, the majority of the trucks were returned to Lithuania. ==Former border crossings==

The following two border crossings are listed by the European Union as legal crossings for local border traffic, but were closed even before the current crisis. == See also ==