US citizen came from Lithuania by freight train, wants to stay in Belarus
Anton Ross (27) / "Беларусь 1"
A segment aired on the state TV channel “Belarus 1” featured 27-year-old American Anton Ross — the man who crossed the Belarusian-Lithuanian border in a freight train car and was detained by customs officers in Maladzyechna.
The young man said he had visited Belarus a few years ago and really liked the country. He claims to have friends here and expressed a desire to stay in Belarus.
“It just so happened that I have difficulties with documents, and so, you could say, in desperation I tried this last-ditch way to get here. I was once in Belarus, I really liked it then. I visited Minsk a few years ago and enjoyed everything very much — the cleanliness, the coziness, the decency of the people,” said the US citizen.
Anton Ross speaks fluent Russian without an accent, as he claims to have studied at a Russian-language school.
He said he is being treated well. “If only I could somehow stay… Let my mom know I’m okay. They feed me, give me water, it’s warm, I can rest. In short, the conditions are good and everything is fine,” he told the camera.
The report also mentioned that he has “some health issues,” which are being addressed by Belarusian specialists.
Previously, the Border Committee of Belarus stated that the US citizen would be deported to Lithuania after facing administrative charges.
