The man was detained on the bank of the Neman in the Pagėgiai municipality at about 13:50, according to the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (VSAT). Accounts of his age differ: Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas told Lrytas the Russian was about 60, while VSAT representative Giedrius Mišutis later told BNS he was 68.
According to Katelynas, the detainee requested asylum and said he was being persecuted in Russia over his activity on social media. The minister said the situation was assessed by the responsible agencies, including the State Security Department of Lithuania.
After consultations, a decision was made to return the man to Russia. Mišutis told BNS that he was declared inadmissible to Lithuanian territory and sent back under the procedure applied to people denied entry from Belarus.
According to the border service representative, the authorities had no data indicating threats to the man, any special status, or the possibility of his admission in the European Union. He was also not classified as a vulnerable person.
The Russian was returned to the Kaliningrad region after 19:00 through the Panemunė crossing point. Before that, border guards provided him with dry clothing, attending to his condition after the swim.
In February, Lithuanian border guards had already reported detaining a man who crossed from the Kaliningrad region into Lithuania over the frozen Neman. He was also 68 and held citizenship of Russia, Germany and Ireland. A criminal case was opened against him for illegal border crossing, but he was released on bail after questioning.
In the summer of 2025, Russian Daniil Mukhametov jumped off the transit train Adler-Kaliningrad on Lithuanian territory to avoid being drafted into the army. He later left for France and requested political asylum there. In the summer of 2026, a French court ruled that Mukhametov should be handed over to the Lithuanian authorities; he planned to appeal the decision, fearing deportation to Russia.