WARNING FROM VILNIUS / On Tuesday, Lithuanian authorities released video footage of migrants at the border accompanied by the same type of military jeep as Belarusian border guards use. VIDEO: Šalčininkų rajone užfiksuota neteisėta migrantų grupė, kurią lydi...

WARNING FROM VILNIUS: The EU must “really step up” its response to Belarus’ weaponization of migration, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told Playbook in an interview. He warned Europe risks facing a new front in its migration crisis as the number of illegal border crossings into Lithuania could reach 10,000 by the end of the summer.

 

What’s been happening: As Brussels tightened sanctions against the regime of authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko in response to his move to force down a Ryanair flight to detain a dissident journalist, Belarus responded by welcoming planeloads of “tourists” from Iraq, Syria and African countries, who soon illegally crossed the border into Lithuania to seek asylum in the EU. On Tuesday, Lithuanian authorities released video footage of migrants at the border accompanied by the same type of military jeep as Belarusian border guards use. More from Landsbergis below.

https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/politico-brussels-playbook-migration-crisis-beijing-tough-on-berlin-postcard-from-bulgaria/