The European Union's decision to include Belarus' flag carrier, Belavia, in the fifth package of penalties against Minsk has been criticized by Belarus' Department of Aviation, which was accused of being complicit in the present European Union migration issue.

“To solve the migration issue, the EU may decide to adopt a list of individual states, whose citizens will be banned from travelling by flights of airlines operating in Belarus. The Department of Aviation, in turn, undertakes to make this list publicly available and to implement this EU decision,” the statement published by BelTA,

Several EU countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Estonia, have stated that they wish to strengthen sanctions against Belavia in order to prevent EU corporations from doing business with the country.

Germany's authorities have also stated that they want leasing to come to an end as soon as feasible. Heiko Maas, Germany's foreign minister, has stated that the EU will continue to battle any airlines involved in the trafficking of refugees to European countries' borders.

Authorities in the European Union are considering slapping restrictions on travel companies as well as complete sanctions on Belavia.

After a Ryanair flight from the Hellenic Republic to Lithuania was diverted in Minsk on May 23, the decision was made.

According to local media sources, the President of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, ordered the flight diversion in order to apprehend journalist Roman Protasevich.

Belarus is also dealing with an upsurge in the number of migrants attempting to breach the Poland-Belarus border.

Previously, SchengenVisaInfo.com claimed that 739 persons attempted to illegally cross the common border between Poland and Belarus in a single day, marking the highest number of such attempts in a single day.

Lithuanian officials revealed plans to create a physical barrier on the Belarusian border to deal with the influx of migrants. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte confirmed the decision. She noted that more than 1,000 migrants had been spotted at the Lithuania-Belarus border.