Belarus has released the detained trucks to allow them to return to Lithuania
On Tuesday morning, March 24, the first trucks returned to Lithuania after being held by Belarusian authorities for nearly five months in response to Vilnius’s decision to close the state border.
Gedirius Mišutis, a representative of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), told BNS in a comment.
According to him, the vehicles crossed the border through the Medininkai and Šalčininkai checkpoints around 5:00 a.m.
“Around 5:00 a.m., the released trucks began passing through both border checkpoints… Border guards confirmed that they crossed the border; the process has just begun, and more information will follow later,” Mishutis noted.
Details regarding the number of returned vehicles and the conditions of their release are expected to be released shortly.
Earlier, Lithuania held a meeting of the National Security Commission to discuss the situation regarding the launch of balloons from Belarusian territory.
Belarus has transported over a thousand Lithuanian trucks, which were stranded after the border closure, to special parking lots near border crossing points, and is now using them to blackmail Lithuania. More than 220 drivers are currently being sought; they face administrative sanctions if they do not move to the designated sites.
Belarus reported that all Lithuanian trucks that remained on the shoulders of access roads to the border have been transported to special parking lots.
