Lithuania Warns Belarus: One More Balloon Incident and the Border Shuts Down

Lithuania will fully close its border with Belarus if incidents involving the mass launch of balloons recur, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė warned, according to LRT on October 22. The balloons, as stated by the Lithuanian Border Guard Service, are being used to transport contraband from Belarus.

“If our border is again crossed by a large number of such balloons, we will react immediately and close the border with Belarus,” Šimonytė told reporters, as cited by LRT. She stressed that “there will be no concessions to Belarus on this issue.”

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“Our neighbors are being sent a clear signal—we will not calmly watch such actions,” she added.

In October, Vilnius Airport suspended operations for several hours because of balloons drifting into its airspace, disrupting around 30 flights and affecting nearly 6,000 passengers.

On October 21, the airport again halted operations due to a new wave of balloons, causing delays to several dozen flights. Lithuanian authorities temporarily closed two border crossings with Belarus during the incident but reopened them later the same evening once flights resumed, Delfi reported.

Earlier, it was reported that an unidentified drone believed to have entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus triggered a full mobilization of Lithuanian authorities.

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