LRT English Newsletter – July 31, 2026.
With land routes fortified above ground, Belarusian authorities have apparently decided to take irregular migration underground. Literally. In the past week, Lithuania's border guard service (VSAT) has unearthed at least two unfinished tunnels dug from Belarus, both believed to be intended for irregular migration across the border.
VSAT chief Rustamas Liubajevas revealed the finds are far from isolated. According to him, migrants' tactics have shifted toward increasingly using tunnels or caves, and border guards had identified "tens of places" where tunnels are almost certainly being dug. Liubajevas said the trend has intensified this year, though the first tunnels surfaced last year, and noted migrants had already burrowed their way through the same playbook on the Belarus-Poland border before it tunnelled its way into the Lithuanian sector.
Lithuanian officials aren't buying that Minsk is in the dark on this. Liubajevas argued the tunnels' proximity to the border, plus the need to supply timber for structural supports, makes it implausible that Belarusian border guards aren't aware – or actively lending a hand – even if migrants themselves are likely doing the digging.
