Sienos Grupė

updated: 2026 04 16

Below is the official statistical data on pushbacks at the Lithuanian–Belarusian border. The data is published daily by the State Border Guard Service (SBGS). However, these figures do not reflect the actual situation. Although the statistics are officially presented as data on “migrants not admitted”, in reality they record only the number of pushback incidents.* If a group of five people is pushed back three times, the statistics indicate that 15 foreign nationals were pushed back, rather than five. One individual encountered by Sienos Grupė was pushed back as many as 20 times.

Furthermore, the statistics also include persons detected while still on the territory of Belarus, to whom the procedure of refusal of entry to Lithuania could not legally be applied.** As a result, the real number of individuals subjected to pushbacks is several times lower than suggested by the official data.

Since Lithuania began implementing a pushback policy in 2021, 8 people have lost their lives.

* Letter of the State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, 27 October 2023, No. 21-14-2638.

** Office of the Seimas Ombudsmen of the Republic of Lithuania, Human Rights Situation in Lithuania: Monitoring Report 2024, pp. 123–124.