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Moldova's vaccines and Lithuania's border fence
Summary
A look back at two regional developments reported in the days before 12 July 2021, from a US vaccine donation to a new border barrier.
What was happening on Europe's eastern edge on 12 July 2021? Two developments reported in the preceding days set the scene: a vaccine donation to Moldova and a fence going up on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.
On 10 July 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the United States had donated 500,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Moldova. Moldovan President Maia Sandu praised the United States for deploying the vaccines to the country.
On 9 July 2021, Lithuania began building a fence, costing $48 million, along its border with Belarus. A week earlier Lithuania had declared a state of emergency over a rise in undocumented migrants, mostly Syrians, crossing from Belarus. Vilnius accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of deliberately trying to destabilise the country by encouraging and allowing the illegal crossings.
