🔗 Share this article

Lithuania will begin to intercept and destroy helium balloons carrying cigarettes from neighbouring Belarus, the country's leader announced.

This action responds after balloons entering Lithuanian airspace forced Vilnius Airport to close on several occasions recently, affecting holiday travel, accompanied by temporary closures of frontier checkpoints during these events.

Frontier crossing points remain suspended indefinitely due to the ongoing aerial incidents.

According to official declarations, "we are ready to take even the most severe actions during unauthorized aerial intrusions."

Official Measures

Detailing the measures during a briefing, officials stated defense units were executing "every required action" to intercept unauthorized devices.

About the border closure, officials noted embassy personnel maintain access for cross-border diplomatic missions, while European Union nationals and Lithuanian residents retain entry rights, however general movement continues suspended.

"Through these actions, we communicate to Belarus declaring that unconventional threats won't be accepted here, and we will take all the strictest measures to halt these operations," government officials declared.

Official communications saw no quick answer from Belarus.

Alliance Coordination

The Baltic nation intends to coordinate with partners about the security challenges presented and may discuss activating the alliance's consultation mechanism - a protocol allowing member state consultation regarding security matters, particularly involving territorial protection - she added.

Airport Disruptions

National air facilities experienced triple closures over the weekend because of aerial devices crossing the international border, affecting 112 flights and more than 16,500 passengers, per transportation authority data.

Earlier this month, multiple aerial devices crossed into Lithuanian airspace, causing dozens of flight disruptions impacting thousands, per national security agency reports.

These incidents continue previous patterns: as of 6 October, numerous unauthorized objects tracked entering airspace across the frontier in recent months, according to official statements, with nearly thousand incidents during previous year.

European Context

Additional aviation facilities - covering northern and central European sites - faced comparable aviation security challenges, involving unmanned aerial vehicles, in recent weeks.