After Lithuania took the decision to close two border checkpoints, traffic across the Latvian-Belarusian border intensified, Latvian officials reported.
The increase in the flow of people, vehicles and goods has been registered, the deputy head of the customs department of the Latgale region told Latvian television on Wednesday evening. According to him, traffic has increased by about 20 percent. There seems to have been an increase in attempts to smuggle across the border.
Lithuania, motivated by the presence of the Russian mercenary group “Wagner” on the territory of Belarus and the objective of preventing smuggling, temporarily closed two of the six border checkpoints with Belarus.
Lithuania, as well as Latvia and Poland, have expressed concern about Wagner’s presence in their vicinity. Russian mercenaries moved into Belarus after a failed coup against Russian military rulers in June.
Source: The Delfi
