Tunnels in the EU: Frontex Accuses Belarus
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency claims that tunnels used by migrants to enter Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland could not have been built without the knowledge of Belarusian authorities.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency claims that tunnels used by migrants to enter Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland could not have been built without the knowledge of Belarusian authorities.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has accused the Belarusian regime of Alexander Lukashenko of being behind the construction of tunnels through which migrants illegally enter the European Union. According to information from German media outlets WDR and NDR, Frontex concludes in an internal analysis that such tunnels on the Belarusian side of the border could not have been built without the knowledge and support of Belarusian authorities.
"Such tunnels would not be built on the Belarusian side of the border without the knowledge and support of Belarusian authorities," reads the internal Frontex analysis, as reported by Tagesschau. The analysis also states that it cannot be ruled out that the Lukashenko regime uses tunnel-building specialists and migrants for the digging.
Last week, Latvian authorities discovered a tunnel on the border with Belarus for the first time, through which 15 migrants entered the Baltic state. According to Latvian Interior Minister Janis Dombrava, the tunnel was located near the Silene border crossing, which has been closed for some time.
Since last year, several tunnels have been discovered between Belarus and Lithuania and Poland. In 2026 alone, five tunnels were found in Lithuania. At least 86 migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and India entered through three of them, while the remaining two were discovered during construction.
In the first half of 2026, Frontex recorded 3,209 irregular entries at the EU's eastern external borders, a 44 percent decrease compared to the same period the previous year. Despite the decline, the agency warns that the migration pressure used by Belarus as a tool has not diminished.
"Nevertheless, the migration pressure that Belarus uses as a tool has not decreased," the analysis states. Frontex emphasizes that tunnels have become "such an option" and that it can be assumed they will continue to be used "as long as the instrumentalized migration pressure from Belarus persists."
The European Union and the German federal government have for years accused Belarus of state-sponsored facilitation of migrant crossings into the Schengen area without border controls. Western security services believe that Russia supports the actions of its ally, but Belarus and Russia consistently reject these accusations.
The Belarusian embassy in Berlin did not respond to a query about the latest accusations, according to Tagesschau.
