„We met with General Rustam Liubajev in 2019. At that time, I began serving as the Commander of the Lithuanian Land Forces, and General Rustam Liubajev became the head of the State Border Guard Service.
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Since then, the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the State Border Guard Service have had to work together several times – during the COVID-19 pandemic, managing the illegal migration crisis, combating smuggling, and addressing other issues important to our country’s security.
Today, our institutions cooperate daily. Over all these years, I have come to know the general as a professional leader, a true Lithuanian patriot, and a brother in arms.
I am pleased to be able to award General Rustam Liubajev the Lithuanian Armed Forces award for his merits in strengthening Lithuania’s security,“ writes R. Vaikšnoras on his Facebook page.
Why is the commander stepping down?
Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas will propose to the Government on Wednesday to dismiss Rustam Liubajev, head of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), from his position.
As BNS reported, R. Liubajev decided to resign amid a law enforcement investigation into an incident at the border and a service inspection of the VSAT leadership regarding the reporting of this event.
He informed M. Katelynas about his resignation on Monday.
Discussions about R. Liubajev’s future arose after information appeared in the media about an incident that occurred at the end of July in the Kapčiamiestis border post area.
It was reported that after a tunnel being dug under the state border was detected, four border guards set up an ambush.
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The border guards detained several migrants and handcuffed them, but during the detention about 20 foreigners attacked the officers.
The officers had to flee, while the illegal migrants, including those handcuffed, escaped to Belarus. VSAT announced the discovery of the tunnel and the escaped migrants but remained silent about the attack on the officers.
The portal “Delfi” reported on the incident based on sources, and last week the portal “Lrytas” published that one officer was injured. Meanwhile, the General Prosecutor’s Office states that after questioning all border guards involved in the incident, no such data was obtained.
The resignation is positively evaluated by the officers’ trade unions, but they emphasize the need to fully investigate the mentioned situation.
Meanwhile, some opposition politicians criticized Minister M. Katelynas, claiming that under his pressure, the VSAT head decided to resign.
R. Liubajev has led VSAT since December 2019. He was appointed for the first term then, and at the end of 2024 – for the second. Before that, he served as the chief advisor of the Public Security Policy Group at the Ministry of the Interior.
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