Medics, border guards hand over Russian citizen, treated in Vilnius, to Belarus

VILNIUS – Medics and border guards on Friday handed over to Belarus a Russian citizen who was brought to the Lithuanian capital's medics in mid-October after developing health problems on a flight from Turkey to Moscow.

According to Giedrius Misutis, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), the Russian woman who was in a serious condition was treated at the Republican Vilnius University Hospital, from where she was transported by ambulance on Friday morning to the Medininkai border checkpoint, where she was handed over to Belarusian medics and officials at around 9 a.m.

"She was handed over to the Belarusian ambulance service in a serious condition and was accompanied by her daughter, who contributed to the technical aspects of the woman's transfer," Misutis said.

According to him, the woman, born in 1973, was treated in Lithuania on humanitarian grounds. When handing her over to Belarus, the SBGS took a formal decision to return the Russian citizen and order her to leave Lithuania.

On October 18, a plane flying from Antalya to Moscow was forced to land at Vilnius airport due to the health problems developed by the said passenger and hand the woman over to a medical team. The aircraft then continued its journey.

Aircraft registered in Russia or owned by Russian nationals are not allowed to use the airspace of European Union countries due to the European Union sanctions, but this ban does not apply to emergency landings in the event of a risk to the health or life of passengers.