Belarus border tensions with Ukraine and Lithuania, July 2021
A look back at two border disputes involving Belarus that were reported in the days before 6 July 2021.
What was happening on Belarus's borders by 6 July 2021? Reports from 2 July 2021 showed two separate disputes, with Kyiv and Vilnius each facing accusations or pressure linked to Minsk.
On 2 July, Belarus closed its border with Ukraine. President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that arms were being smuggled into the country in an attempt by "outside powers" to overthrow his regime. Ukraine denied the claims and said that closing the border would make its people "suffer".
A second front in Lithuania
The same day, Lithuania declared a state of emergency amid a rise in the number of undocumented migrants crossing from Belarus. The Government of Lithuania accused Lukashenko of deliberately trying to destabilise the country by encouraging and allowing refugees, mostly Syrians, to cross the border.
What the two cases show
The two episodes differed in substance. In one, Minsk alleged arms smuggling and shut a border; in the other, Vilnius alleged that Minsk was facilitating migrant crossings. Both, however, placed Belarus in open dispute with a neighbour over border control within a single day, and both governments rejected Minsk's stance: Ukraine denied the smuggling claim, while Lithuania responded with emergency measures.
