Belarus had prevented Lithuanian trucks from leaving the country since November 2025 in retaliation for Lithuania temporarily closing the border due to contraband balloons smuggling cigarettes from Belarus and disrupting operations of Vilnius Airport.
“Since the detained trucks were allowed to leave parking lots, based on our estimates, 153 of them have returned to Lithuania by 6 a.m. this morning,” Giedrius Mišutis, a representative of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), told ELTA on Friday morning.
He said that 98 vehicles have returned through Medininkai border checkpoint and 55 travelled through Šalčininkai.
Most of these trucks with Lithuanian number plates are driven by Belarusian citizens who have residence permits in Lithuania.
The first goods vehicles released by Belarus have returned at 5 a.m. Tuesday, 24 March.
As reported, Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko declared that he would allow the trucks to leave “having considered an appeal from Lithuanian and Polish carriers”.
On 17 March, representatives of the Belarusian Government headed by Prime Minister Alexander Turchin, on instructions from Lukashenko, met with representatives of Lithuanian and Polish road carriers, whose goods vehicles were prohibited from leaving Belarus.
According to Belarusian media, more than 1,900 trucks and semi-trailers could not leave the country.
Trucks and semi-trailers have been detained in Belarus since November 2025 in retaliation of Lithuania closing Medininkai and Šalčininkai border checkpoints a month earlier.
Lithuania temporarily closed the two checkpoints in October 2025 due to contraband balloons smuggling cigarettes from Belarus and disrupting operations of Vilnius Airport multiple times, resulting in diverted and cancelled flights.
Seeking for the release of vehicles, the Lithuanian Government soon re-opened border checkpoints arguing that fewer contraband balloons were flying, however, Belarus refused to let the vehicles go.
The National Road Carriers’ Association Linava has appealed to the European Commission noting that members of the organisation have suffered damages of up to EUR 22 million due to Belarusian actions. The European Commission confirmed that the property of Lithuanian carriers was unjustifiably detained in Belarus.