Eastern Europe's borders and vaccines in focus, July 2021
A look back at two regional developments reported in the days before 12 July 2021, in Moldova and on the Lithuanian–Belarusian frontier.
What was happening on Ukraine's western and northern flanks by 12 July 2021? Two reports from the preceding days showed neighbouring states dealing with very different pressures.
On 10 July 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the United States had donated 500,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova. Moldovan President Maia Sandu praised the United States for the deployment.
On 9 July 2021, Lithuania began building a $48 million fence along its border with Belarus. A week earlier, Lithuania had declared a state of emergency over a rise in undocumented migrants, mostly Syrians, crossing from Belarus. Vilnius accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately trying to destabilise the country by encouraging and allowing the crossings.
The two stories were separate. One concerned public health support, the other border security and a dispute between Lithuania and Belarus. Together they showed the range of issues facing countries near Ukraine's borders in the summer of 2021: pandemic response on one side, migration pressure and a tense bilateral relationship on the other.
