Nearly 2,000 trucks have been stranded at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border after the Lithuanian government decided to close the frontier for a month, the country’s road carriers association said Friday, warning that losses could reach millions of euros.
“By my rough count, about 1,500 to 2,000 trucks are currently stuck,” said Oleg Tarasov, vice president of the National Road Carriers’ Association Linava.
He said it was still unclear how much the closures would cost carriers, as Belarus had not yet announced any retaliatory measures.
“Everything is very uncertain now because we don’t yet know what countermeasures Belarus might take. There are no official responses yet,” Tarasov told BNS.
Povilas Drižas, secretary-general of the International Transport and Logistics Alliance, said the situation required urgent action.
“The situation is heating up because, in practice, there are no viable routes left to exit – not even through Poland or Latvia. We’re hoping for quick solutions,” he said.
According to Tarasov, one day of downtime for a truck costs about 200 euros. For a truck delayed 10 to 15 days at the border, losses can reach around 3,000 euros. With about 2,000 vehicles currently stuck, total damages could reach 6 million euros – and more if Belarus imposes additional restrictions.
“If Belarus responds with countermeasures, losses will be much higher,” he said.
Tarasov noted that when Poland closed its border with Belarus earlier this year, trucks stranded there were only allowed to return via Polish crossings and were forced to wait in paid parking lots costing between 40 and 100 euros per day.
“At that rate, we would also face extra costs for parking,” he said.
Most transit currently passes through Poland, but Tarasov expressed concern that if Poland reopens some of its border crossings with Belarus, Lithuania could lose a major share of its logistics industry.
“If Poland opens the crossings, as it has signalled, then all the traffic will likely shift there. That would mean we lose our logistics sector entirely – transport, storage, freight forwarding – and thousands of jobs,” he said.
“The transport sector accounts for up to 15 percent of Lithuania’s GDP. I think we could lose 7 to 8 percent,” Tarasov added.
Poland closed its border with Belarus on September 12, though Prime Minister Donald Tusk later said Warsaw was considering reopening two crossings. Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said Thursday that following Lithuania’s decision, Poland had postponed that reopening.
Linava on Thursday urged the government to work with business representatives to find immediate solutions, as long queues have also formed at Latvian and Polish border crossings, preventing many trucks from returning home.
Ruginienė, meanwhile, urged businesses to understand the necessity of the decision, pledging to stay in contact with industry representatives.
Tarasov said Linava had not yet received an invitation for talks with the government. “So far, no – we have no updates,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Lithuanian government decided to close the border with Belarus until November 30. The Šalčininkai–Byenyakoni checkpoint is fully closed, while traffic through the Medininkai–Kamenny Log crossing is restricted to diplomats, holders of simplified transit documents, returning Lithuanian citizens and their families, EU and NATO citizens and their relatives, and foreign residents with residence permits or humanitarian visas.
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