A Lithuanian citizen who crossed the Russian border by accident was detained for 18 days. Behind bars, he was placed in solitary confinement and was questioned by the Russian authorities.
The man realised he had crossed into the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad only when he noticed the border guards. One of them was aggressive and threatening.
“I just did what he said, I responded as much as I understood,” said the man, who preferred to stay anonymous. “At some point, I found the situation a bit absurd – how can he expect me [to be] some kind of spy or something, when I was just lost.”
He was then led away in handcuffs.
“These soldiers came from behind me with automatic rifles, with fingers on triggers, and they kept saying – ‘if you run, we will shoot you,” the man said.
As he was being led away, they kept stopping and whispering to each other, which provoked thoughts about whether “they will shoot me in the back of the head”, the man says.
He was then blindfolded and later taken to solitary confinement. There, he had to face an OMON officer and answer provocative questions.
The Russian officers asked about his views on the war in Ukraine. More questions followed.
“Who I was working for, why I was making calls to Ukraine, [...] why I was not supporting the Russians, and so on,” he said.
After a few days in solitary confinement, he was taken to a refugee centre where he spent more than two weeks.
There, he was able to read, play chess and sports, and was allowed to use his mobile phone once a day for an hour.
His detention in Russia lasted 18 days in total, and he was returned to Lithuania following mediation by Vilnius authorities.
According to the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (VSAT), similar incidents have also occurred in the past.
It happened mostly when people crossed into Russian territory on water, according to Giedrius Mišutis, the VSAT spokesperson.
There is only a small stretch of land connecting Russia with Lithuania, but accidental crossings also “have happened on several occasions”, Mišutis said.
In most cases, those who cross by accident manage to make it back without being detained.
Once back in Lithuania, they still face a fine from Lithuanian authorities for violating the state border.
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