Lithuania closed two new border checkpoints with Russia's ally Belarus on Friday. Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite cited threats to national security.
Relations between Lithuania and Minsk deteriorated after the 2020 presidential election in Belarus. In 2021, Lithuania, along with Poland and Latvia, faced an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants from Belarus, with thousands of people - mainly from the Middle East and Africa - managing to cross the border. The West has accused the Lukashenko regime and Moscow of orchestrating the influx.