Secret Tunnels at Lithuania's Border Point to Belarus

Border guards in Lithuania have found 12 secret underground tunnels near the country's border with Belarus in 2025. Migrants have been using these tunnels to try to enter Lithuania without permission. The tunnels stretch up to 25 meters on the Lithuanian side. Officials believe the Belarusian government may be helping build them to create problems for Lithuania.

Lithuania's border with Belarus is about 700 kilometers long, and roughly 550 kilometers are protected by a fence. As the fence has made crossing above ground much harder, it appears someone is helping migrants go underneath it. General Rustamas Liubajevas, who leads Lithuania's State Border Guard Service, said guards use sensors that detect underground vibrations from digging. When the alarm goes off, guards wait at the tunnel exit and arrest migrants as they emerge. Up to 40 migrants have been caught this way so far.

Liubajevas does not think migrants are digging these tunnels on their own. The tunnels need wood and other supplies to hold up their walls. He said gathering those materials would be nearly impossible without help from Belarusian officials. He believes Belarus wants to keep tension high at the border on purpose.

Political scientist Margarita Seselgyte from Vilnius University called the tunnels a 'hybrid attack to cause anxiety in our society.' She noted that Belarus watches its border very carefully, so large digging projects could not easily go unnoticed. Belarus's president, Alexander Lukashenko, has denied helping migrants cross into other countries. But Seselgyte believes Minsk must have at least looked the other way while the tunnels were being dug.

Seselgyte also said Belarus is acting as a helper for Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Some Russian troops gathered in Belarus before that invasion began. Lithuania has been one of the loudest voices in Europe calling for stronger defense against Russia. Experts think Belarus and Russia want to cause chaos in Lithuania to weaken that voice and reduce European support for Ukraine.

Linas Kojala, who leads a research group called the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center, called this the latest phase of 'weaponized migration.' This strategy uses the movement of people as a kind of weapon to pressure other countries. The problem first grew large in 2021, when tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Belarus into Lithuania, Poland, and Latvia. The European Union said Lukashenko organized those crossings to cause political trouble for its member states.

Since 2021, border fences have been strengthened and illegal crossings have dropped sharply. Lithuania recorded 1,652 attempts to enter illegally in 2025, which is a much smaller number than before. However, experts say the number will not reach zero unless Belarus stops encouraging the problem. Kojala said that is unlikely, because Belarus seems determined to create as many difficulties as possible.

Robert Gonzci, an analyst in Budapest, Hungary, pointed out that using migration as a political tool is not new. He said governments have done this since the 1950s, and even the ancient Assyrian empire moved people around to expand its power. This strategy is popular because it costs little and carries low risk for the country using it. He also said it is possible that independent smuggling networks, not the Belarusian government itself, are behind some of the tunnels.

Countries like Lithuania face a difficult challenge because they must guard their borders while also treating migrants fairly under the law. Authoritarian governments, which do not follow the same rules, can take advantage of that situation. Despite this pressure, experts say the countries on the eastern edge of the EU have responded well. Cooperation between the Baltic states, Poland, and the Nordic countries has been growing.

Lithuania is now testing Polish scanning equipment that can locate empty spaces underground to find new tunnels faster. If the equipment works well, the country plans to buy it and put it to use along the border. The EU's border agency, Frontex, has also been sending extra equipment to help countries in the region. Officials say they expect more tunnels to be found, but they feel ready to deal with them.