Lithuania to temporarily close two checkpoints with Belarus amid tensions on border

By LIUDAS DAPKUS
Associated Press

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania has decided to temporarily close two of its six checkpoints with Belarus this week amid growing tensions with its eastern neighbor, an ally of Russia. Wednesday’s decision came as Lithuanians grow increasingly worried about the presence of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries in Belarus. The head of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service, said that there could be up to 4,500 of Wagner fighters there, with some of them being based close to the Lithuanian and Polish borders. In recent days, Poland has been deploying thousands of troops to its border with Belarus.