On that occasion, the Minister of the Interior, A. Bilotaitė, arrived at the border and belligerently announced that more checkpoints were being prepared for the increasingly dangerous neighbours and that the scenario of a complete closure of the border with Belarus was being discussed.
We do not know how the Belarusians, especially those living near the closed border checkpoints, reacted to this news, but our people are clearly confused, not understanding whether they are being protected from Wagner mercenaries or from harmful habits.
People in the Tverečius area, who have been attracted to a duty-free shop on the Belarusian side to buy cheap vodka or smokes, are crying, while local traders are rejoicing that they will finally be able to pick up the slack in turnover.
But both wonder how the closure of these outlets relates to national security or to the possible threat posed by Wagner. After all, the decision to block the streams of cheap vodka from Belarus had been in the government's cabinet long before.
At the time, the reasoning was based on economic and political considerations – the closed border crossings did not have X-ray equipment, which made it difficult to protect against the flow of contraband that fed Lukashenko's regime.
In fact, border guards say there have hardly been any serious cases of smuggling, with only one or two „tourists“ crossing the border and risking carrying more goods than allowed.
But why go into details when the authorities need to show citizens worried about their security that they are at least doing something: the Poles, for example, have been on the prowl for some time now, and ours can't just sit back and take it.
However, such a show of concern, especially with different threat assessments coming from senior officials, seems strange.
It is true that some of the inhabitants of the Tverečius and Šumskas districts may be more sober if they have not bought cheaper Belarusian vodka. However, on a more sober note, the question arises: would not those Wagner mercenaries be rushing through the border crossings?