Not just pushbacks: the controversial deforestation at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border

The fresh clear-cut of centuries-old trees along the Lithuanian-Belarusian border has brought the issue of EU border management and pushbacks at the east frontiers back into the spotlight. The decision by the Lithuanian State Border defender Service (VSAT) to proceed with the clear-cutting of a five-kilometre forest strip in the Lazdijai territory up to Druskininkai County, justified by the request to improve visibility to guarantee border line surveillance, has sparked outrage among local residents. Those surviving in the area have denounced the demolition of century-old pines and the possible environmental harm to the Nemunas river.

A frontier under pressure

This seemingly environmental issue must be understood within the broader context of deteriorating relations between the European Union and Belarus. The crisis began in 2021 when, as a consequence of internal repression following the contested 2020 presidential elections and, in particular, after the hijacking of a Ryanair flight in May 2021 to arrest the dissident writer Roman Protasevich, the EU imposed sanctions on Belarus.

In response, the Belarusian government began facilitating the arrival of migrants, primarily from the mediate East (Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan) and Africa by streamlining the issuance of tourist visas and arranging flights to Minsk (often through state-controlled airlines). This was done with the nonsubjective of pushing these people to effort to enter the European Union through the east land border.

The weaponization of migrants by the Belarusian government has transformed what was erstwhile a comparatively calm border into a region of large tension, complete with serious humanitarian consequences. Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s strategy has created a situation in which thousands of migrants find themselves trapped in a grey region between 2 states, frequently exposed to inhumane conditions and pushbacks by EU border guards (specifically from Poland, Lithuania and Latvia) in violation of the global rule of non-refoulement.

In 2021, Lithuania’s Ministry of the Interior declared through a press release that more than 4,000 migrants had entered the country. This represented an increase of 55 times compared to entries recorded in 2020 and even a 110-fold increase compared to 2019.

Faced with this unprecedented influx, the Lithuanian authorities granted border guards the power to immediately push back migrants attempting to cross the border from Belarus at unauthorized points on August 3rd 2021. From the minute this measurement came into force until the end of the year, a full of 8,106 people were pushed back from Lithuania’s borders.

According to the country’s border guard, 890 people had already been pushed back from Belarus from the beginning of 2025 to the end of June, compared to 1,002 in all of 2024.

Lithuania spent over 200 million euros between 2021 and 2023 to counter the influx of migrants (including the construction of a barrier along over 500 kilometres of border territory, at a cost of 150 million euros). This figure led Vilnius to decide to file a case against Minsk before the global Court of Justice last May, accusing Belarus of “organizing and facilitating the large-scale smuggling of migrants into Lithuania” and seeking compensation of 227 million US dollars.

The barrier at the border between Lithuania and Belarus. Photo: wikimedia.org / Hugo.arg.

In consequence to the escalation of the crisis, the Lithuanian government declared a state of emergency and adopted increasingly controversial measures that effectively legalized border pushbacks and the detention of irregular migrants, all in violation of asylum law. Among these measures was besides the deployment of civilian border guards (whose level of preparation leaves considerable doubts) with extended powers, including the usage of force.

These decisions have attracted severe criticism from human rights organizations and have been subject to scrutiny by the European Court of Justice, which established that denying access to asylum procedures during states of emergency constitutes a violation of EU law.

Beyond environmental implications in a fragile ecosystem

The border region between Lithuania and Belarus is part of a forest ecosystem of peculiar ecological value. The area is characterized by humid and marshy forests, subject to hard weather conditions and freezing temperatures in winter. This already fragile environment is now under additional force from European “security” measures.

The controversy over deforestation reflects dynamics that are akin to what happens at the Polish-Belarusian border, where the construction of barriers has affected the Białowieża forest, a UNESCO planet Heritage site and 1 of the last examples of European primeval forest. The Białowieża forest hosts over 800 European bison, the continent’s heaviest terrestrial mammals, and its protection has triggered heated debates at the European level. These discussions have been focused more on the freedom of movement of these animals than that of the human beings trapped and blocked at the border.

This crisis has an environmental component in Lithuania as well. According to a resident of the village of Varviškė, the felled trees are over 200 years old and deforestation could destabilize the sandy banks of the Nemunas river. The width of the cleared strip, which reaches 100 metres compared to the officially planned 13 metres, has raised questions about the proportionality of the measures adopted.

Lithuanian authorities defend the necessity of the operation in the fight against smugglers and irregular migrants. Laura Jurgelevičiūtė, a VSAT representative, explained that the width of the cleared strip depends on the circumstantial circumstances of the terrain, as well as the presence of waterways and another topographical factors. However, the absence of predetermined circumstantial parameters has fuelled criticism about the deficiency of transparency in the decision-making process and the failure to affect the local population.

The Lithuanian-Belarusian border (in red). The regions where deforestation occurred are marked in light blue (author’s note).

The operation carries bureaucratic and legal complexities. The local company Bush Hunter, which carries out the work with a three-year contract without state compensation, derives profits from the sale of the cut timber. This model, described by owner Mindaugas Baliukonis as “partly charity, partially not”, raises doubts about the transparency of public procurement and the management of national forest resources.

The consequence from the Lithuanian Ministry of Environment has been twofold. While confirming that no crucial violations were detected, emphasizing that national safety remains a priority, the ministry has prepared a proposal to ban clear-cutting within 20 kilometres of the border in forests larger than 1.5 hectares. This amounts to an implicit acknowledgement of environmental concerns in an effort to find a compromise not only with citizens but most likely besides with the European Union (the demolition of centuries-old forests evidently contrasts with the objectives of the European Green Deal).

Rights denied in the Baltic as well as in the Mediterranean Sea

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation of migrants who are pushed back or detained remains critical.

According to an Amnesty global report from June 2022, Lithuanian authorities have systematically violated the rights of asylum seekers, resorting to illegal pushbacks and subjecting people detained in detention centres to degrading conditions.

The study papers testimonies from migrants who report that “soldiers wake us up at 6am. They come with dogs.” This reflects a climate of intimidation and militarized control that transforms detention centres into places resembling prisons.

Today, only grassroots legal action seems capable of bringing a minimum of justice to this grey region at the margins of Europe. In March 2025, Lithuania’s ultimate Administrative Court accepted a class action filed by 24 asylum seekers arbitrarily detained by Lithuanian authorities between 2021 and 2022, beginning the way for possible compensation for those who suffered illegal detention and degrading conditions in militarized detention centres.

Meanwhile, despite the violations established by the EU Court of Justice in 2022 and a parliamentary question launched in 2023 by 8 MEPs from various political groups (S&D, Greens, the Left and PPE), the Commission has never initiated infringement procedures against Lithuania. This demonstrates Brussels’s deficiency of political will to enforce asylum rights at its borders, at sea as well as on land.

This article was originally published in Italian on the Meridiano 13 website and social media channels.

Giulia Pilia is an expert in east European affairs, local governance and election observation. She is besides a founding associate of the online diary Meridiano 13.

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