Fence along Lithuania-Kaliningrad border almost complete

Launched in June, the construction of the border should be finalized by Wednesday.

“The installation of the security fence should be completed within the time-frame specified in the contract between the service and the contractor,” the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service said in a response to BNS.

The fence is built in stretches of the Lithuania-Russia state border that runs on dry land, with the exception of a few stretches next to small rivers. The total length of the fence is over 40 km.

Border guards have already installed technical surveillance systems along the 109-kilometer-long river section of the border with Russia.

A stationary border surveillance system should be installed in the Ročiškės checkpoint in the Sakiai district for allocations from the budget by the end of the year.

In 2018, a stationary surveillance system is planned in part of the territory of the Vištytis checkpoint in the Vilkaviškis district, with plans to expand the existing stationary surveillance system in the Kybartai checkpoint, also in the Vilkaviškis district.

The fence is being built to curb smuggling and keep illegal migrants out of the country.

Additional security measures have also been taken at the Lithuanian border with Belarus, with new surveillance systems installed in territories of five checkpoints this year.

Lithuania seeks to have modern surveillance systems along the entire exterior border of the European Union by 2020, projecting a security fence in separate stretches.